Dominant issue in Pakistan politics: Who will be next Army chief?

s Pakistan’s?Army?General?Qamar?Javed?Bajwa’s term is coming to an end, the entirety of the country’s politics is wrapped up in the question of who will be the successor, Kunwar Khuldune Shahid writes in The Diplomat. Currently, in Pakistan, it is ousted Prime Minister Imran?Khan and the military, which are the two epicentres of the country’s multipronged political incoherence.

And this all started after?Khan?stated that any army chief not appointed by him will not be accepted by his party as well and even not his supporters who constitute a very significant section of the voting population, according to The Diplomat citing former Punjab chief minister and political analyst Najam Sethi, the author of “Trial of Democracy.” In the seven months since?Khan’s ouster, he has been at loggerheads with the military establishment, which continues to orchestrate its cycle of churning civilian leaders in and out of power. The central government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which itself was a victim of the military’s engineering in 2018, is currently tasked with doing the military’s bidding so as to reaffirm the army’s hegemony.

It is pertinent to note here that Imran?Khan?became the first Prime Minister in Pakistan’s history to be ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote. “The involvement of the establishment in politics throughout our history is known to all. Things remain stable only when [the military] remains within its limits and accepts civilian leadership,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Vice President Ejaz Chaudhary told The Diplomat.

Immediately after his ouster?Khan’s narrative, which doubles down on absolutist populism, is destabilizing the country, despite the military’s historical manoeuvres safeguarding the institution’s own interests, The Diplomat reported citing PTI Chief’s critics. According to New Lines Magazine, the ouster of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran?Khan?has led to an unprecedented backlash against the country’s all-powerful military establishment.

People have expressed anti-army sentiments after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran?Khan?accused the military of planning his downfall along with the United States. In rallies held across Pakistan, protesters have raised slogans in support of?Khan?and against the military. One of the slogans raised by protesters is “Anyone who is friends with America is a traitor” translated from “Amreeka ka jo yaar hai gadaar hai,” New Lines Magazine reported.

Presently, anti-army sentiments are highly visible in Pakistan. People continue to voice their opinion against the military on social media despite accounts being suspended and arrests being made of people accused of planning anti-army campaigns on the internet. After Pakistan army chief General?Qamar?Javed?Bajwa?travelled to the United States in October, hashtags like?BajwaHasToGo and?BajwaTraitor trended on social media, accusing General?Bajwa?of following US orders in Pakistan, according to New Lines Magazine. (ANI)