The upcoming weekend will be decisive in Pakistani’s history as it could mark the end of the prime minister’s tenure. The voting on the no-trust motion is expected to be held on Sunday and unless divine intervention salvages him, the prime minister is all but certain to lose.
The prime minister remains undeterred and has vowed to ‘fight till the last ball’. He has refused to quit knowing well it would give an opportunity to the opposition. The opposition has been riding high after a spate of defections and shifting allegiances for the embattled prime minister.
Now he has been spreading the narrative that there is a foreign conspiracy against him and that he personally, not the country, is the main target. The reason why foreign powers are against him is for pursuing an independent foreign policy and developing ties with Russia. The prime minister knows his days may be outnumbered. Hence, he has been drumming up public support against the opposition whom he claims is part of the conspiracy.
The prime minister’s address to the nation on Thursday evening seemed more like a farewell speech as it might be his last. He summed up his career and explained how he was disillusioned after Pakistan joined the ‘war on terror’ which unleashed a wave of terror and made us subservient to foreign powers. Consequently, Pakistan faced drone strikes, sacrificed thousands of lives and struggled economically. These consequences lead him to have an independent foreign policy that displeased those foreign powers who want to remove him.
The narrative may have no bearing on the no-trust move and certainly not the opposition, but it will certainly have an impact on the people. The prime minister understands this. He knows the sentiments of the people who have suffered from the war on terror and want an end to foreign interference. He well knows that this is an opportunity to warn the people to remain wary of the opposition parties.
Irrespective of the no-confidence vote result, Imran Khan’s political career is by no means over. He has vowed to come back stronger and will be more fearsome if pushed from power. And if, in case, he survives the no-trust move, he would certainly become invincible.
