Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s resignation is the latest – and highest profile – in a string of departures from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which the civilian government on Wednesday threatened to ban.

“I have decided to take a break from politics, therefore, I have resigned from party position and parting ways from Imran Khan,” Chaudhry said in a post on Twitter.

The former information minister spent days in detention after violent protests swept the country this month after the detention of Khan on corruption charges.

Chaudhry condemned the protests by Khan’s supporters, who attacked military installations, including army headquarters, and government buildings.

Khan says the corruption allegations were fabricated and that his associates are being forced out under duress from the government and the military in a manoeuvre to dismantle his party before elections scheduled later this year.

He has been embroiled in a tussle with the military since he was removed from power last year in a parliamentary vote which he says was orchestrated by the country’s top generals. The military denies this.

Khan is Pakistan’s most popular leader according to local polls, while the military is its most powerful institution, having ruled directly or overseen governments throughout Pakistan’s 75-year history.

The face-off has raised new fears about the stability of the nuclear-armed South Asian country of 220 million people as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades.

Chaudhry is the second former federal minister to leave Khan. On Tuesday, former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari announced she was leaving politics, citing health concerns, after spending 12 days in detention.

Most of the top leaders of the PTI have been taken into custody. A number of former parliamentarians and mid-tier leaders have quit the party or politics entirely over the last few days.

Another key aide, former Finance Minister Asad Umar also announced on Wednesday, hours after he was released from detention, that he was resigning from his party position of secretary general.

‘Banning PTI’

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters on Wednesday that the government is considering banning the PTI for attacking the “very basis of state” and this could not be tolerated.

A ban would be likely to further enrage Khan’s supporters and exacerbate the confrontation with the military establishment.

PTI party lawyer Ali Zafar said any such step would be challenged in court. He said an entire party cannot be blamed for acts committed by individuals.

Khan, 70, became prime minister in 2018 with the tacit support of the military, though both sides denied it at the time. But he later fell out with the generals after being seen as having tried to interfere in key promotions in the security sphere.

After being removed from power last year, Khan has been campaigning for a snap general elections, rallying supporters across the country. But the prime minister who replaced him, Shahbaz Sharif, has rejected calls for a poll ahead of the due date late this year.

Khan has said the corruption charges were made up to banish him from politics.

He was detained on May 9 but was later freed on bail.

In an address on Wednesday, Khan said he would form a negotiating committee that will offer to talk with state authorities to seek a way out of the impasse.

He said if that committee was convinced the matter could be resolved by him stepping aside from politics or from not holding snap elections, he would comply.

He was detained in connection with a case for making threats against police officers and judicial magistrate Zeba Chaudhry on August 20 at a gathering in F-9 Park.

As a result of Khan’s persistent absences, Civil Judge Rana Mujahid Rahim also made public the three-page reserved verdict and issued non-bailable arrest warrants.

According to Geo News, Khan submitted a request for an exemption from physically appearing before the judge, requesting authorization to participate in the court sessions digitally through video link.

According to sources, many choices were made at a conference between Islamabad and Lahore police officials when the authorities returned to the city to arrest Imran Khan for the second time.

The sources told Geo News that Islamabad police would get in touch with Khan’s chief security officer before heading to Zaman Park.

Imran Khan has been the subject of two separate non-bailable arrest orders from different courts. He hasn’t appeared before them often, though, instead, he hosted a gathering in Lahore where he declared that this Sunday will be the day of a historic rally.

When the authorities went back to the city to detain Imran Khan for the second time, numerous decisions were reportedly made at a meeting between Islamabad and Lahore police officials.

According to the sources, before visiting Zaman Park, Islamabad police would make contact with Khan’s chief security officer.

Two distinct non-bailable arrest warrants for Imran Khan have been issued by different courts. Though he hasn’t frequently addressed them, he did organise a gathering in Lahore when he announced that this coming Sunday will be the day of a historic march.

A total of 37 cases have been brought against Imran Khan around the nation. They include court cases, police and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) investigations, as well as actions taken by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the leader of the PTI.

The result of the vote, which was the culmination of a 13-hour session that included repeated delays, was announced just before 0100 (2000 GMT on Saturday) by the presiding speaker of parliament’s lower house, Ayaz Sadiq.

Khan, 69 was ousted after 3-1/2 years as leader of the nuclear-armed country of 220 million, where the military has ruled for nearly half its nearly 75-year history.

Parliament will meet on Monday to elect a new prime minister.

Sunday’s vote followed multiple adjournments in the chamber, called due to lengthy speeches by members of Khan’s party, who said there was a U.S. conspiracy to oust the cricket star-turned-politician.

Opposition parties were able to secure 174 votes in the 342-member house in support of the no-confidence motion, Sadiq said, making it a majority vote.

“Consequently the motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan has been passed,” he said to the thumping of desks in the chamber. Khan, who was not present for the vote, had no immediate comment.

Just a few legislators of Khan’s ruling party — Tehreek-i-Insaf, or Pakistan Movement for Justice — were present for the vote.

The house voted after the country’s powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa met Khan, said two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, as criticism mounted over the delay in the parliamentary process.

The front-runner to become Pakistan’s next prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said Khan’s ouster was a chance for a new beginning.

“A new dawn has started… This alliance will rebuild Pakistan,” Sharif, 70, said in parliament.

Sharif, the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has a reputation as an effective administrator.

Parliamentary elections are not due until August 2023. However, the opposition has said it wants early elections, but only after it delivered a political defeat to Khan and passes legislation it says is required to ensure the next polls are free and fair.

Khan’s ouster extends Pakistan’s unenviable record for political instability: no prime minister has completed their full term since independence from Britain in 1947, although Khan is the first to be removed through a no-confidence vote.

He surged to power in 2018, but recently lost his parliamentary majority when allies quit Khan’s coalition government. There were also signs he had lost the military’s support, analysts said.

Mlitary soured on Khan

The military viewed Khan and his conservative agenda favourably when he won the election, but that support waned after a falling-out over the appointment of the country’s next spy chief and the economic troubles.

“They (the military) don’t want to be seen as supporting him and be blamed for his failures,” opposition leader and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told Reuters earlier. “They’ve pulled their support.”

Opposition parties say he has failed to revive an economy battered by COVID-19 or fulfil promises to make Pakistan a corruption-free, prosperous nation respected on the world stage.

Reema Omar, South Asia legal adviser to the International Commission of Jurists, said it was an ignominious end to Khan’s tenure. On Twitter, she posted, “3.5 years marked by incompetence; extreme censorship; assault on independent judges; political persecution; bitter polarisation and division; and finally, brazen subversion of the Constitution.”

Khan’s allies blocked the no-confidence motion last week and dissolved parliament’s lower house, prompting the country’s Supreme Court to intervene and allow the vote to go through.

Khan earlier accused the United States of backing moves to oust him because he had visited Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin just after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Washington rejected the charge.

Muhammad Ali Khan, a legislator from Khan’s party, said the prime minister had fought till the end and would return to lead parliament in the future.

Prime Minister Khan had been antagonistic towards the United States throughout his tenure, welcoming the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last year and urging the international community to work with them.

The former cricket star had moved to break up the lower chamber ahead of a no-confidence vote against him that he had looked destined to lose. The court said in its judgment that the vote should now go ahead.

“The advice tendered by the Prime Minister on or about 03.04.2022 to the President to dissolve the Assembly was contrary to the Constitution and of no legal effect,” Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial said, as he read out a 13-point order to a packed courtroom.

Dozens of opposition members outside the imposing white stone building shouted in jubilation when the unanimous ruling was announced. Angry Khan supporters chanted anti-American slogans in reply as police in riot gear separated the sides.

The constitutional crisis has threatened economic and social stability in the nuclear-armed nation of 220 million people, with the rupee currency hitting all-time lows earlier on Thursday and foreign exchange reserves tumbling.

When opposition parties united against Khan last week to push for the no-confidence motion, the deputy speaker of parliament, a member of Khan’s party, threw out the motion, ruling it was part of a foreign conspiracy and unconstitutional.

Khan then dissolved parliament.

Thursday’s ruling in the capital Islamabad could spell the premature end of Khan’s tenure in a country where no elected leader has finished their full term in office.

The 69-year-old, who steered Pakistan to cricket World Cup victory in 1992, came to power in 2018 after rallying the country behind his vision of a corruption-free, prosperous nation respected on the world stage.

But the firebrand nationalist’s fame and charisma may not be enough to keep him in power. He could not deliver on all of his lofty promises and failed to avert an economic decline partly sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Khan called a cabinet meeting for Friday when he also planned to address the nation.

“My message to our nation is I have always & will continue to fight for Pak till the last ball,” he tweeted.

Economic Meltdown

If Khan were to lose the no-confidence vote, the opposition could nominate its own prime minister and hold power until August 2023, by which date fresh elections have to be held.

Shehbaz Sharif, a member of the powerful Sharif political dynasty, said after the court ruling that allies in the opposition had nominated him to take over should Khan be ousted.

The opposition has said it wants early elections, but only after delivering a political defeat to Khan and passing legislation it says is required to ensure the next polls are free and fair.

Pakistan’s election commission said on Thursday the earliest it could hold the ballot was October.

Economic policymakers will want to see the crisis resolved as quickly as possible. Pakistan is in the middle of an International Monetary Fund bailout which it desperately needs to shore up hard currency reserves.

The Pakistan rupee took a battering on Thursday as the country awaited the court’s judgment, hitting record lows.

In its biggest hike in years, the central bank raised its policy rate by 250 basis points to 12.25% in an emergency meeting.

“As (the) dollar continues to soar, a massive economic meltdown is staring the country in the face,” Sharif said in a tweet.

The crisis also threatens Pakistan’s relationship with long-time ally the United States, who Khan has blamed for being behind a conspiracy to overthrow him. Washington denies this.

Some political analysts said the country’s powerful military viewed Khan and his conservative agenda favourably when he won a general election, but that its support has waned. Khan has denied enjoying their backing.

The military has stepped in to remove civilian governments and take over on three occasions since Pakistan’s independence in 1947, citing the need to end political uncertainty.

The current military leadership says it is not involved in politics, including the current situation.

Addressing a massive rally in the Malakand area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PM Khan said, “I praise our neighbouring country as they always had independent foreign policy. Today India is in their (America) alliance and they are part of QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue); they say that are neutral. They are importing oil from Russia despite sanctions because their policy is for the betterment of people”.

In the same rally, PM Khan attacked his opponents and said, they always “polish” the boots of white people, and he doesn’t love to do that.

“I haven’t bowed before anyone and will not let my nation bow either”, Khan said.

PM Khan’s statement came at a time when he is scheduled to face the opposition’s no-confidence motion against him, as a session of the National Assembly is scheduled on March 25.

When foreign media ask Pakistan’s official narrative about the genocide of Uyghur, instead of a satisfactory answer Pakistan’s spokesperson changes the topic.

Politics is one of the major institutions where religion is instrumentalized only for its gain. Pakistan’s official narrative and official statements of condemnation about violence and genocide in China of Uyghur Muslims and violence in Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, and Yemen are quite different. 

Pakistan seems very sensitive and concerned for Palestine and other mentioned countries and as a Muslim country it is a very right attitude but on the other hand, the violence in West China Xinjiang is totally ignored by the same Muslim country (Pakistan). Almost all the religious leaders who are considered as “Tekhadar” of religion are also found absolutely mum in the case of Uyghur.  

When foreign media ask Pakistan’s official narrative about the genocide of Uyghur, instead of a satisfactory answer Pakistan’s spokesperson changes the topic. In an interview to the “Financial Time” Imran Khan was asked about Uyghur, where he had said: “Frankly, I don’t know much about the Uyghur issue”.

Moeed Yusuf (National Security Advisor the Prime Minister of Pakistan) was asked in an interview with Karan Thapar, but he could not respond to the question properly. Shah Mahmood Qureshi was asked a month ago by CNN and he also changed the topic and turn the question to Kashmir and Palestine issues. 

Moreover, Imran Khan in an interview with Jonathan Swan was asked that why he was outspoken about Islamophobia in Europe and the United States but totally silent about the genocide of Muslims in West China, while they have imprisoned more than one million Muslims in re-education camps, also punished Muslims for fasting, praying, even giving Muslim names to their children.

The Prime Minister’s response was quite astonishing that China is a friend, they discuss these things (Uyghur Muslims) behind closed doors. He didn’t say a word against China. He was speechless but why? Because of CPAC or other major investments in Pakistan or he has other hidden pressures? 

We do not understand the complications of politics; the only reality is we are groomed only emotionally enough to be part of instrumentalization. It’s time to contemplate that are we going in the right direction? It’s time to learn to behave sensibly not emotionally.

Salman Wali is from Pakistan. He is currently studying linguistics and Literature at Karakorum International University Pakistan.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Milli Chronicle’s point-of-view.

It’s reported that, UK-based Sayed Z Bukhari who is a Special Assistant to the Pakistan’s PM for Overseas Pakistanis, paid a brief visit to Israel in the last week of November, and he also talked about Pakistan’s participation in a joint naval exercise “Sea Breeze 2021” in the Black Sea.

It added that, Bukhari arrived at Ben Gurion Airport from Islamabad on a connecting flight to London, taking advantage of his British passport. No sooner he landed, he was transferred to Tel Aviv, where he met with senior officials in Israel’s Foreign Ministry. He then conveyed the message to the former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen from Pakistan PM Khan and Pakistani Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Bajwa.

The Sea Breeze 2021 is a naval exercise that will be held between June 28 and July 10 in the Black Sea and will be cohosted by the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy.

Israel will take part in the international exercise alongside Muslim countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey.

“Pakistan is one of the countries participating in the Sea Breeze exercise and the Pakistani military in Ukraine will arrive to be an observer”, the Pakistan Navy said.

The maneuvers in the Black Sea will involve over 5,000 troops, 32 vessels, 40 aircraft, and 18 diving and commando teams.

The historical naval exercise will have forces from 32 nations, namely the United States, Ukraine, Britain, Israel, Albania, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

The machine guns peeking over parapets of small, sandbagged concrete bunkers and the heavy artillery cannons dug deep into Himalayan Kashmir’s rugged terrain have fallen silent.

At least for now.

The Line of Control, a highly militarized de facto border that divides the disputed region between the two nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, and a site of hundreds of deaths, is unusually quiet after the two South Asian neighbors last month agreed to reaffirm their 2003 cease-fire accord.

The somewhat surprising decision prompted a thaw in the otherwise turbulent relations between the countries but also raised questions about the longevity of the fragile peace, in part due to earlier failures. The crackdown by Indian forces and attacks by rebels have continued inside Indian-held Kashmir.

The cease-fire, experts say, could stabilize the lingering conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Kashmiris say the rare move should lead to resolution of the dispute.

It was unclear what prompted the two militaries to adhere to the accord they had largely ignored for years. But experts point to a climbdown by both from their earlier stance following a decision by India to strip Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and take direct control over the region in 2019, and its months-long bitter border standoff with China.

Paul Staniland, associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said the ongoing costs of clashes along the Line of Control, the economic effects of the pandemic, and other foreign policy challenges facing both countries might have combined to create incentives to pursue a cease-fire.

Since 2003, the cease-fire has largely held despite regular skirmishes. Both India and Pakistan claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over it, and in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, militants have fought against Indian rule since 1989.

Each country has accused the other of heightening tensions by significantly ratcheting up border attacks in the last four years, leading to the deaths of soldiers and villagers.

The cease-fire announcement came shortly after China and India agreed to a military disengagement from a portion of their disputed border after a months-long deadly military standoff. It had led to fears of a two-front war between India and China, with the latter assisted by its closest ally, Pakistan.

“Some sort of pressure, possibly from Washington and Beijing for different reasons, is pushing India and Pakistan for wider peace moves in the region,” said Siddiq Wahid, historian and former vice chancellor of the Islamic University of Science and Technology.

Beijing wants Pakistan to focus on securing its investments as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a massive, cross-continental infrastructure development project aimed at expanding China’s commercial connections globally. Islamabad is a key partner and some Chinese-built highways snake through Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. The US, on the other hand, is courting India to focus its energies on countering China.

“If Pakistan is indeed looking to move toward a new regional role, embracing geopolitics, reducing tensions with India is a must, and if India is going to pivot to deal with a rising China, it has reasons to want to calm relations with Pakistan,” said Staniland, a South Asia expert.

“The real question is whether these reasons remain powerful enough over time.”

The thaw in relations became apparent when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an avowed Hindu nationalist, ceased playing up rhetoric against Pakistan and referencing Kashmir in campaigning for elections in four key states.

In Pakistan, too, political leadership and the powerful military have shifted from their earlier position of not engaging with India until it reversed its decision to annul Kashmir’s semi-autonomy.

Last week, Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa said it was time for the two countries to “bury the past”and resolve the dispute over Kashmir peacefully. His remarks followed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s repeated calls for good relations with India with a caveat that the Kashmir dispute remains at the center of any future talks. Since the announcement of the cease-fire, Khan, too, has abandoned his past rhetoric against Modi.

Modi appeared to reciprocate, sending last week a letter to Khan seeking cordial relations. Khan replied Tuesday but reiterated that lasting peace was mainly contingent on resolving the future of Kashmir.

The rapprochement has sparked skepticism among Kashmiris who fear the dispute could be pushed to the backburner given the fast administrative and political changes in the region by India that they have likened to settler colonialism.

“We are not against talks and want an end to violence. But there has to be an end to repression too,” said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, an influential Kashmiri separatist leader who has been under house arrest since August 2019.

“The whole idea behind the negotiations has to be a resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the wishes of its people.”

In the past, Pakistan and India made multiple attempts to broker a deal over Kashmir. They also initiated confidence-building measures like exclusive barter trade between two parts of Kashmir, sporting games and bus services for divided families.

“The cease-fire can lead to relative peace but one should not expect lasting peace,” said Vinod Bhatia, who was India’s director-general for military operations from 2012 to 2014.

Meanwhile, villagers living along the frontier are paying the price.

The lives of Nader Hussain and Munshi Muhammad Arshad are divided by a barbed concertina wire. Hussain lives in Indian-controlled Kashmir and Arshad in the part controlled by Pakistan.

In late November, Hussain saw an artillery shell fired by Pakistani soldiers fly towards him in his mountainous village. The 50-year-old couldn’t outrun the projectile and lost both legs in the blast. Two other men were killed on the spot.

“The two countries do politics on our bodies, but this must end,” he said.

On the other side, the 45-year-old Arshad, who lost his father to an artillery shell fired by Indian soldiers, hoped for peace.

“But a durable peace,” he said, “will only come when the Kashmir issue is resolved.”

Imran Khan finally chose his close aide and summoned him from overseas to deliver the sensitive message of Pakistan to Israel.

It was a morning of the last week of November 20 at around 8am, a British Airways flight BA0165 flew from London Heathrow airport to Tel Aviv. The person who booked a business class, travelled from Pakistan.

According to my Israeli Intel sources, in the last week of November 2020, the establishment of Pakistan along with the PM Imran Khan decided to send official message to Israel in order to start political and diplomatic talks with the state of Israel.

Imran Khan finally chose his close aide and summoned him from overseas to deliver the sensitive message of Pakistan to Israel. The PM’s advisor who lives in the UK and has also close relations with the Trump administration for the Middle-East took a flight from Islamabad to London from where he travelled on his foreign Passport directly to Tel Aviv.

As his visit was officially approved by the US and Israeli authorities, he was welcomed by the Israeli officials at Tel Aviv airport and escorted him to the foreign ministry of Israel where he met several political officials and diplomats and delivered the message of the Pakistani Prime Minister. He stayed a few days in Israel where he met with the director of Israeli intelligence Mossad Mr Yossi Cohen and delivered a secret message of Pakistan Army Chief.

My sources informed me that Pakistan wanted a support of Israel to halt down the current cold situation with the Arab countries as well as to support her in many international issues such as FATF as well as Indian lobbying against Pakistan.

In return, Pakistan would start political ties but in a very soft and conditional way with slow move due to the fear of religious bloc within the country. The state of Israel warmly welcomed the Pakistani approach and assured her to do the best to help Pakistan in the current hostile situation.

If Pakistan starts open political talks with the state of Israel, it would make her economically stable and could maintain friendly ties not only with Arab countries but also make a better image in the international community.

Pakistan is in a diplomatic, political and financial crises due to her cold relations with KSA and UAE. Since Pakistan stood with Turkey to provide help in several regional issues, the Arab countries that once had brotherly ties with Pakistan not only issued warnings but kept distance from her.

Imran’s government failed foreign policies in the Middle East which cost Pakistan a heavy price.

In the recent days, Indian Chief of the Army staff historically visited Saudi Arabi and UAE which alarmed Pakistan for her lost in regards to the old and warm relations with the Arab countries.

In the current situation, Pakistan had only hope to get her out of the disastrous situation which is to start political talk with Israel. Due to the unpleasant atmosphere with Arab countries, Pakistan decided to seek help from Israel in order to ease down the cold relations with KSA and UAE.

Source: Noor Dhari’s Tweet.

Noor Dhari is Executive Director of UK-based International Think Tank Group ITCTofficial. He tweets under @DahriNoor2.

PM Khan is reported to have said last week that Israel’s “deep influence” in the United States, is the major cause of pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel. However, Khan said that, “I have no second thought about recognizing Israel unless there is a just settlement, which satisfies Palestine”.

But on Monday, a Middle-east based news agency reported PM’s comments which were taken out of context, and eventually led to a response from the foreign ministry’s office on Tuesday.

Foreign Office said, “The Spokesperson said the Prime Minister had clearly articulated Pakistan’s position that unless a just settlement of the Palestine issue, satisfactory to the Palestinian people, was found, Pakistan could not recognize Israel. The Prime Minister’s remarks are an unequivocal reaffirmation of Pakistan’s position on the subject, leaving no room for baseless speculation”.

Current position of Pakistan is that it does not recognize Israel, however PM Khan wishes to recognize it provided East Jerusalem is declared as Palestine’s capital.