Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a former Pakistani prime minister, reportedly urged the key stakeholders to start a dialogue and warned that the country’s current economic and political crisis has all the makings of inspiring a military takeover.
He noted that the army had previously intervened in much less dire situations.
The PML-N leader made it clear that martial law was always a possibility if the system broke down or when there was a dispute amongst institutions and the political leadership was unable to determine a course of action, According to the Dawn.
“Pakistan has had many long periods of martial law in very similar situations,” he said. “I would say Pakistan has never witnessed a [more] difficult economic and political situation before. In much less severe circumstances, the military has taken over,” he said.
If tensions within the institutions and society grew too intense, Abbasi warned of chaos and added that the army might intervene in such a case.
“It has happened in many countries,” he said. “When the political and constitutional system fails, extra-constitutional [measures] occur.”
However, the leader of the PML-N hoped that martial law was not a possibility under consideration by the military. I do not believe they are thinking about that, but if they have no other option, they will recite the well-known speeches of “mere Aziz hamwatano,” a word often associated with military coups.
“A political dispensation is the only way forward,” he said. “Every political party today has been in the government for 12 months, but they have not delivered so far. It is a really deep crisis. The visible phase is the economic crisis.
He made it clear that if the army were to take control, things would get worse rather than better.
He called on all important stakeholders to initiate dialogue.
The three important players in the game should initiate a dialogue, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PML-N Nawaz Sharif, and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.
“We need to start from the leadership, and then everything will flow from there,” he noted that the only way forward would be for sanity to prevail and for the country’s interests to supersede personal agendas.
When was there democracy in Pakistan? Each and every government is controlled by the Pakistani Army.