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This week’s R&D from Prepd covers Pakistan’s ongoing political crisis. Prime Minister Imran Khan recently tried to avoid a no-confidence vote by dissolving the Pakistani Parliament and calling for new elections, but opposition parties took the decision to the Supreme Court, which ruled yesterday that Khan’s move was illegal. Khan has accused opposition parties of working with foreign powers to remove him.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court says Prime Minister Imran Khan’s move to dissolve parliament was illegal and ordered the house be restored ⤵️ https://t.co/vjMAcI9hWH
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 7, 2022
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s dissolution of the National Assembly is threatening domestic upheaval, writes Zahid Hussain via @CFR_Asia. https://t.co/5gQO5wtzom
— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) April 6, 2022
Pakistan court rules Imran Khan no-confidence vote block is illegal https://t.co/jRJyepJEUV
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 7, 2022
When Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister of Pakistan last year international observers thought the country was heading down the right path. For the first time in Pakistani history power was peacefully passed from one democratically elected government to another. Sharif’s government made tackling corruption and high unemployment a priority. It also sought to rein in the power of the Pakistani Army, which still seeks to execute a veto of internal security measures and foreign policies. Unfortunately, Sharif’s government now finds itself under siege from political protesters that are demanding its removal. Led by two minor politicians, these forces allege that Sharif’s government illegitimately came to power in a fraudulent election and that it is too corrupt to lead. Protesters are blocking government buildings in the capital city of Islamabad and the unrest might give the Pakistani military an excuse to topple the civilian government, something that the military has done three times previously in the country’s history.
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Today’s R&D covers former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who governed between 2001-2008 and will stand trial for treason. His treason trial will be the first in Pakistani history. Musharraf was a staunch ally of the United States in the war on terrorism.