Pakistan’s all-powerful military was accused of colluding with Imran Khan and a troublemaking populist cleric as the country’s prime minister called an emergency session of parliament to discuss the growing political crisis.
After days of violent protests in Islamabad, crowds called for Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, to resign over charges of vote-rigging in last year’s elections, stoking fears that the military would intervene.
The army, which has run the country for nearly a half of the 67 years since Pakistan won independence, says it views the current political crisis with “serious concern”.
Security analysts said yesterday that the army retained considerable influence over supporters of Mr Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, and Tahir ul-Qadri and that, if it wished, it could easily defuse tensions on the streets.
Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and security analyst, said it was “quite possible” that elements within the military were tacitly backing the protests.
Advertisement
“Some elements in the army might be trying to destabilise democracy in the country,” he said. He doubted, however, that the military, which has successfully seized power in Pakistan on three occasions since 1947, was seeking a coup as an endgame to the crisis.
Mr Sharif, who enjoys a solid majority in parliament, chaired a joint session of both houses in an attempt to bolster support against crowds calling for his resignation. The meeting came a day after the army secured the state television headquarters after it was ransacked by protesters.
Weeks of largely peaceful protests turned violent on Saturday night after demonstrators armed with clubs descended on Mr Sharif’s residence in Islamabad. At least three people were killed and hundreds injured in subsequent clashes.
“This is not a protest, a sit-in or a political gathering,” Chaudhry Nisar , the interior minister, told parliament. “This is a rebellion . . . against the state of Pakistan.”
He added: “They are terrorists.”
Advertisement
The nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people has been in turmoil since mid-August when protesters, led by Mr Khan and Mr ul-Qadri, flooded into the centre of the capital protesting against widespread alleged vote rigging in last year’s election.