On Monday, 14th September 2015 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that Army chief General Raheel Sharif’s popularity is reaching new heights in the country as the public at large becomes more and more wary of corrupt politicians. “When PPP and MQM were targeted, both parties began clamoring for help. I urge the Rangers and agencies to also go to Punjab to investigate the mega scams taking place there,” said the PTI chief, while speaking at a press conference in Bani Gala, Islamabad.
Comment:
Since the launch of Karachi operation and crack down on corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, the army chief, Raheel Sharif, has been portrayed as the strong man of Pakistan by mouthpieces of the regime. People have lost all hope in the current politicians as they don’t have any vision for their future, and are instead immersed in plundering wealth to fill their foreign bank accounts and protect each other’s corruption. In this scenario, Raheel’s promoters are active in claiming that the arrests of several front men of the political elite is something only Raheel could do.
This drama is not new to Pakistan. Many times previously, after the failure of politicians to bring positive change in the people’s lives, a strong man emerges from the military leadership. Ziaul-Haq and Musharaf both exploited this disaffection towards politicians, enjoying good support of people in the early days of their rule on the mere promise of bringing good governance. However, as soon their rule prolonged people saw that nothing has changed for them in any aspect of life whether its distribution of wealth or provision of justice, health, education and transportation. Above all, slavery to the demands of the West, particularly America, and comprehensively and sincerely implementing Islam was far from their minds.
The difference between the former military rulers and the current army chief is that the former ones rolled back the democratic facade, abrogated the constitution and imposed martial law. This time Army Chief Raheel Sharif has allowed the continuation of the democratic political setup and constitution but tightened his hold through the use of agency thugs and personal pressure upon the various institutions, exploiting the strength and respect of the army. However, everyone can see that the actual power lies in the hands of Raheel Sharif, particularly in the matters of foreign policy and internal security with respect to the so-called US War on Terror, which is actually a war against Islam and its concept of Jihad in particular.
America’s prime concern in Pakistan is not the existence of corrupt politicians as they have served her interests for decades. Her concern is to kill or put behind bars those people who wage Jihad against her presence in Afghanistan or call for the implementation of Islam in Pakistan. In order to achieve this objective, America wants traitors in the military leadership to curb Islamic madaris and mujahideen, which were promoted when the USSR occupied Afghanistan. However, now because America is the new occupying force in Afghanistan, it has ordered the roll back of polices that it encouraged in the 1980’s. The current drama is to hide the fact that Raheel wants to end to Jihad because America demands.
The mouthpieces of the regime are busy in covering the arrests of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, but never expose the raids by paramilitary forces upon Islamic madaris or arrests of sincere Ulema and Islamic politicians. Any sincere people within the media are threatened or muzzled by various means. On 25th August 2015, the Interior Minister, Chaudry Nisar, confirmed that tens of thousands have been subjected to summary arrest, booked under the draconian Protection of Pakistan Act and thrown in jails. The accused are not granted bail and have to remain in prison until they get favorable judgment from kangaroo courts established under POPA. However, the government has either not appointed any judge at all, or appointed too few, so thousands of Muslims languish in prison, including a number of the Shabab of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The drama of arresting corrupt politicians and bureaucrats is a cover to hide Raheel’s war on Islam, Jihad and Khilafah. However, as in the past military dictators lost the trust of people as media manipulation can never conceal the ugly face of the regime forever. In fact the mask of Raheel has already begun to slip, beginning with him being awarded the Legion of Merit by his masters in Washington and continuing as the reality of his soft coup, summary arrests and muzzling of the media becomes more and more obvious.
وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ ٱللَّهُ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلْمَاكِرِينَ
“They were plotting and Allah too was planning, and Allah is the Best of the planners.”
(Al-Anfal:30)
Shahzad Shaikh
Deputy to the Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Wilayah Pakistan