Dangerous, Wider Security Implications of Pakistan’s Political Turmoil

The current political turmoil in Pakistan is fundamentally not confined to conflict between Imran Khan’s PTI and the PDM’s government. It is not even confined to a struggle between factions of the powerful military establishment. The political turmoil has wider implications. It widens to facilitating US objectives and interests in this region, at this time. This is regardless of whether this facilitation is by deliberate design, or by unfortunate, regrettable consequence.

The US wants to promote India as the dominant regional player, so that it can use India against China and Muslims. Whilst the US is supporting India diplomatically, economically and militarily to promote its regional stature, India cannot attain a dominant role, unless Pakistan is denied its prevalent influence in the region. It is mandatory to cut Pakistan down, to provide the necessary space for India, to assume a dominant regional role.

Furthermore, Indian cannot be pitched against China, unless it has a guarantee that Pakistan will not intervene, and instigate a conflict with India, at any time chosen. This requires marginalizing Pakistan’s capability and capacity to challenge and provoke India. This in turn requires reducing the ability of Pakistan’s military, to challenge and upset Modi’s regional ambitions.

Consequently, it is useful for Washington to give room for a struggle that embroils Pakistan in a wasteful internal conflict, undermining the prestige and status of the armed forces. Additionally, embroiling the armed forces in petty domestic issues and conflicts, so that it can’t focus on taking any external initiatives, is useful for US objectives. This is whilst the military leadership takes the stance of unilateral, regional peaceful restraint, in the face of mounting Indian aggression. This is all accompanied by the military leadership’s efforts to convince its rank and file that it is unable to challenge the growing might of India’s military.

Even though this drive to surrender before India is ongoing for a few years now, the current political situation has taken it to the next level. Moreover, whether the mounting security threat is by design, or by consequence, of the current political turmoil, it demonstrates the failure of the military leadership, which is the actual power in the country. Regrettably, it perpetuates a tradition in which it is well-known that the new army chief is appointed with approval of Washington, horribly reducing Pakistan’s military to an extension of USCENTCOM.

The military leadership has failed because it has not adopted Islam as a basis for its course of action. Had it done so, the tables would be turned on New Delhi and Washington, with immediate effect. Islam mandates Nussrah (seeking support) for establishing Islam as the method of ruling, eradicating the colonialist tool, Democracy. Islam in turn mandates cutting all ties with the foreign enemy nations, eradicating the foreign exploitation of Pakistan’s military and economy. Islam mandates the unification of Muslim Lands to empower the Ummah, in facing and defeating its enemies. And Islam mandates the mobilization of state force to liberate Muslim Lands, including Occupied Kashmir, sending the enemy into disarray. Such bold steps will never take place whilst the military leadership supports Democracy and the current colonialist world order.

Indeed, the only way out of the current crisis is for the military leadership to grant Nussrah to Hizb ut Tahrir. If it does not do so, it is at its own peril and the peril of the country that it is has sworn to protect. And above all, it places the neglectful in peril of inviting punishment from Allah (swt).

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ)

“O you who believe! Be mindful of your duty to Allah, and seek the way of approach unto Him, and strive in His way in order that you may succeed.” [Surah Al-Maeda 5: 35]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ali Tariq – Wilayah Pakistan