Daily Times

Former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad continued to dwell on the current political situation in Pakistan as on Thursday he came up with another statement urging the country’s civil and military leadership to change the “disastrous” course. In a message on Twitter greeting Muslims around the world on the start of Ramazan, Khalilzad used the occasion to ask Islamic countries to reflect upon in the holy month. “In Pakistan, civil and military leaders might ponder the state of their country and the disastrous course it is on. In respect for their obligations and in the interest of their people, they should change course,” he wrote. This was his third statement in a week on the brewing political tensions in Pakistan. Many were taken by surprise the manner in which former US diplomat was taking keen interest in Pakistan politics and making specific proposals. On March 14, Khalilzad in a series of tweets said Pakistan was facing triple crises that warranted a soul searching.

As Lahore descended into chaos after the police attempted to arrest PTI Chairman Imran Khan last week, the former US ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq wrote: “Pakistan faces a triple crisis: political, economic, and security. Despite great potential, it is underperforming and falling far behind its archrival, India. It is time for serious soul-searching, bold thinking, and strategizing.” “The sequential cannibalising of its leaders through jailing, execution, assassination, etc is the wrong path,” Khalilzad said and went on to caution that Khan’s arrest would only “deepen the crisis”. He suggested two steps to deal with the brewing political and economic crises.

The first step, he said, would be holding parliamentary elections in June. Secondly, he called for using the time for main political parties to “confront what has gone wrong and propose a specific plan to rescue and put the country on a path to stability, security, and prosperity”. “Whichever party wins the election will have a mandate from the people on what must be done,” he said. But his statement drew strong reaction from the Foreign Office. But despite Pakistan’s objection, Khalilzad issued another statement this week warning authorities not to ban Imran from taking part in politics. “There are indications that Pakistan’s parliament, which is controlled by the governing coalition, might well ask the Supreme Court to disqualify Imran Khan from running for election and even prohibit PTI in the next few days,” Khalilzad claimed.

“The government appears to have decided to set up Imran Khan as Enemy No 1 of the State. Such steps will only deepen Pakistan’s triple crises: political, economic, and security. Already, some countries have suspended planned investments,” he said. “The IMF support remains doubtful. If the steps mentioned take place, international support for Pakistan will decline further. Political polarization and violence will likely increase,” he added. “I hope the Pakistani political leaders rise above destructive petty politics that undermine the national interest. If not, I hope the Supreme Court says no to being used in games that undermine the nation’s interests. I am becoming increasingly concerned about Pakistan.”