Shazia Anwer Cheema
PTI has announced an armed struggle against the State of Pakistan and its Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur directed tribal elders to raise arms against Pakistan.
This news is not shocking and unexpected for me because I have been writing that PTI has an agenda to dismantle the ‘Statehood’ and disintegrate Pakistan. Some political analysts consider Gandapur’s fire-brand statement to be a reaction to the failure of PTI’s public meetings in Islamabad and Lahore, I cogitate his statement as a well-thought-out and planned declaration of arms struggle against Pakistan because the party has lost public support and cannot create chaos through protests. Hence, it has no option left but to raise arms as it tried to do on May 9, 2023. Nevertheless, this time the party has planned a large-scale armed resistance and would collect anti-Pakistan elements under one umbrella.
The mischievous mentality of PTI’s leadership once again plans to destroy peace in Pakistan and to my understanding, Gandapur is just a mouthpiece of former prime minister Imran Khan and Gandapur’s rebellious address proves that despite being the representative of the Federation (as CM of a federating unit), he is inciting people to clash with the State. His video message in which he demanded tribal elders to raise arms against the state of Pakistan is clear instigation and an act of sedation for treason. I do not doubt that PTI is doing all at the behest of external elements who wish to create chaos in Pakistan. It must be remembered that what Gandapur is asking cannot considered a legitimate struggle or legitimate armed resistance under any international convention of ‘resistance for a just cause’ rather it falls under the category of terrorism and the state of Pakistan must deal with these elements as a state should deal with terrorists.
When studying legitimate arms struggles and terrorist crime, it is natural to distinguish the two because they are altogether different phenomena. Terrorism is out of the ordinary, so it must not be confused with violent political expressions. A Chief Minister cannot announce armed struggle because the moment he/she announces armed struggle; he/she defies the Constitution on which he/she takes the oath. Gandapur’s video message also ignited ethnicity (while saying that Pashtuns deal with Punjabis by force). Under the international conventions, his act is fanning ethnic violence and cannot be considered an announcement of a legitimate arms struggle.
I strongly believe that PTI plans to practice the same design that had been tested in Libya, Iraq, and Haiti where the administrative units (provinces) were placed against the national government (federal government) and then units announced their liberation/independence. This is a tested formula of the Global North since WWII. The same was tested in former East Pakistan (thereafter became Bangladesh). PTI leadership since long talked about the Bangladesh model and founding chairman Imran Khan openly said that he compares himself with the late Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, former President of Bangladesh who disintegrated East Pakistan and crafted Bangladesh out of it. The first attempt of PTI was on 9th May 2023 which was a series of events when Pakistan witnessed the writ of the State being challenged by the foreign-sponsored mob. It was the first of its nature in which the targets of attackers were military installations and even the monuments of national martyrs.
I have been writing that enemies of Pakistan want to see Pakistan like Iraq, Haiti, Afghanistan, or Libya and they are funding home-grown hatemongers, and the May 9th planning was conceptualized as a “Revolution against State” and Gandpur has again announced this foreign-sponsored “Revolution against State” and this will surely target those who can protect Pakistan. For long Imran Khan has been working extensively to expand the fault line between the State and Citizens, and he provides a twisted idea that the ‘State’ is the “enemy” of the Citizens. An unbiased, and academic evaluation of PTI can render that the ideology of PTI is based on anti-state directly envisioned by Pakistan’s enemies. PTI never considers itself as part of the State, it always considers itself as a rival of the State and that is why PTI gave a concept of a ‘New State’ —‘Naya Pakistan’ and this had been deeply injected among PTI’s followers. Theoretically, the individuals following this idea of ‘Naya Pakistan’ (New Pakistan/State) do not bother to consider themselves a crucial part of the existing State therefore they never pay any heed to their duties towards the State because they have been told that State is against them. This hostile narrative is based on the “Force Theory” of the State, according to which the State itself is an adversary to its citizens and citizens are forcefully complying with the Statehood. Therefore, I always believe that those who are behind designing the moves of PTI are not only cunning but also have huge infrastructures like hugely funded think tanks and enormously sponsored Western Thought Centers, and people like Imran Khan or Gandapur are just their foot soldiers. Now it is the prime responsibility of the State to fix such elements legally and deal with them as the State should deal with those who want to disintegrate the State. One must remember that ‘Statehood’ is protected by the ‘State’.
Shazia Anwer Cheema is a Prague-based author, analyst, and freelance writer whose articles appear in international media outlets. She did her M.Phil in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is completing her Ph.D. in Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk News.
