If unrest in Pakistan is seen as a civil war, then you should know the only civil war that is really raging is on the Media and the social media Community. Sure, they are facing various political/social/economic difficulties, but it is not something that they have never seen before. No nation is immune to protests and street shows, similarly, the major political parties in Pakistan are teaming up and protesting against the government for a “Fair Re-election”, it’s their right to do so, just like their current PM Imran Khan did.
Khan’s government has launched an anti-corruption campaign, this was premised on the basis that no forgiveness would be given to politicians or family relatives who benefitted from a politician’s benefaction, however, Khan’s opponents had criticized the anti-corruption campaign as political victimization of his opponents.
However, Khan’s supporters argued that this was an honest anti-corruption campaign as senior members of Khan’s ruling party faced investigation and/or prosecution too, such as Jahangir Khan Tareen and Aleem Khan. But in no case, they ever create a situation that’ll lead to a civil war.
But if you look at the larger picture of Pakistan, right from its creation, this country has not seen peace and will do so, given its dirty policies and war-mongering army generals, always engrossed in squandering aid money while the civilian govt is an impotent bystander. This being the scenario, it’s always some sort of struggle or strife in Pakistan at any given time. Civil war is like a way of life for the people of that country.
Khan became the first person in the history of Pakistan general elections who contested and won in all five constituencies, surpassing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who contested in four but won in three constituencies in 1970. In May 2018, Khan’s party announced a 100-day agenda for a possible future government. The agenda included sweeping reforms in almost all areas of government including the creation of a new province in Southern Punjab, fast-tracking of the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, betterment of law-and-order situation in Karachi, and betterment of relations with Baloch political leaders.
On 25 June 2020, Khan came under heavy criticism, both in the international press and from the domestic opposition, for calling al-Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a ‘martyr’, which critics argued connoted a sense of heroism and nobility in his death. A spokesman for Khan stated that any controversy around these remarks by Khan was “unwarranted”, suggesting the term wasn’t used to connote a sense of heroism as his critics argued.
Khan, on a previous occasion during a local television interview, had refused to call Bin Laden a terrorist. However, despite Khan’s fustian, his government has taken strict action against far-right Islamist groups such as the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, which was outlawed as a terrorist group with the group’s accounts frozen and its leadership arrested under Khan’s government. Also, Khan has repeatedly condemned the Pakistani Taliban, including in December 2020 when the nation commemorated the sixth anniversary of the Peshawar school massacre.
Being a democracy, a political party is running the country and like all democracy’s opposition parties are trying to win a majority for the next election. This is what is happening in Pakistan. There is no military intervention, as opposition parties are openly criticizing the army and ruling party but no crackdown or force is being used. The first factor is the recent rallies of PDM (group of 11 political parties) in Gujranwala and other important regional places, in which all the parties showed a strong resistance to the Army’s indulgence in elections. Inflation is at its peak and even the basic needs cannot be sufficed. Everything from electricity bill and gas supply, from basic to other requirements, the debt became 107 percent of Pakistan’s GDP.
The latest issue arises due to the kidnapping of the commissioner of Sindh police, which is the second biggest police force in Pakistan after Punjab. He was harassed which led to the resignation of various police officers and others asking for leave. Political parties and their adherents voice reservations against each other, however, they are not complying with the agenda of foreign dictators. Moreover, Pakistan is treading on the path of democracy, so if the masses are sick of any govt’s policies, they hold protests against the government.
Therefore, keeping situations in view chances of civil war is not imminent. Civilian unrest is going on in Pakistan in which it may escalate so much that the very life of its PM would either be in danger or the whole administrative machinery would be in the hands of its Army. The Army would give free hand to the terrorists to unleash terror against India, to divert the attention of the public. Unlike nations such as Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan, Pakistan is relatively little stable because it has a huge military presence.
