Pakistan army wants Imran Khan as PM?

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan and the relationship between the powerful army is at the heart of the discussion surrounding the elections scheduled for July 25. According to the senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) statement, the government led by Imran Khan will be electedIt is a theory that can be called the concept of conspiracy theorism or conspiracy theories - many people in and outside of Pakistan are accepting.

In fact, the Pakistan army encouraged to obstruct the PML-N and win its main rival PTI. PMLA members have been arrested in recent weeks; Several dozens of parliamentarians supported PTI; Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been sentenced to less than three weeks before the election; Four days before the election, PMLN leader Hanif Abbasi has been given life imprisonment for drug trafficking; Media reports like sensing Nawaz Sharif are being censored - all this seems to be an initiative of the army and the judiciary to prevent PMLN.

However, there is a question about whether the army will be comfortable by putting Imran Khan in power. Because of the personality and political position of Imran Khan, he is not considered to be the favorite of the military.

The army wants a leader whose actions can be guessed and which can be easily controlled. But Khan is unstable and stubborn. Even the virtue of Khan, that is, his hypnotic power and extreme self-confidence can also be responsible for the military. Because, from these characteristics, it seems that he will not listen to higher authorities.

The interesting thing is that they can get an ideal Prime Minister from the group that is tied for the army. Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz Sharif will be the candidate for PM if PMLN won

Shaheb's reputation as an able and steadfast leader, though not a glorious quality like his brother, is well known and is not good with the military. Notably, in a recent interview, Shehbaj Sharif called for improvement in relations between PML-N and the military. If there is a favorite of the army in Pakistan, then it is more likely to be Shahebaj Sharif than Imran Khan.

In the meantime, Imran has given some opinions on something that does not match the views of the army. However, they agree on many other things - just like Imran wants Kashmir to solve the problem, welcomes China and refuses to criticize the military.

Imran has been consistently supporting Pakistan's regular army and he has also indicated he is interested in working with the army. In an interview with the New York Times in May, he said, "This is not Pakistan army, enemy army. I will carry the army along with me. '
The country's politics is spreading to the extremity of the army, there is something to be surprised when it comes to such comments from a leader who wants to rise to the highest peak of power.

But even then, looking at a little bit, some contradictions are seen. Imran remarked positively about Iran. Even Pakistan should make such remarks that 'should be like Iran'.

Tehran is a tough regional enemy of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has a deep connection with the army of Pakistan. Last year, the former Pakistan army chief, Rahil Sharif, under the Saudi coalition, was given leadership in anti-terrorist operations in Muslim countries.

Imran Khan wants a more cooperative relationship with India. Sharif was in trouble with the military because of similar sentiments. Along with it, Imran has a strong anti-American attitude. Once he had promised that he would shoot down the American drone. This attitude can intimidate the military, because they are interested in turbulent relations with the United States.

At the same time, in 2011, Imran criticized sending troops to tribal areas in the name of terrorism, saying they are killing our own people in America's money.

Pakistan Taliban fighters, while campaigning for terrorists, Imran was calling for talks with them. Yet in 2014, the army started operations in North Waziristan to curb anti-state militants.

The military supports anti-terrorism activities and welcomes America's money to fund these. However, if the US-Pakistan relations deteriorated at the beginning of this year, Washington canceled the $ 110 million aid.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of 2014, Imran criticized that Pakistan should not fight with its own people.
Keeping the advice of the biggest partners and keeping in mind the incompetence of controlling state power, Imran can follow the army. In particular, the country's foreign policy has been in the jurisdiction of the army for a long time.

But Imran's personality and words, it is difficult to imagine that he would happily leave the military and leave his place of authority. Likewise, if Imran becomes prime minister, then the probability of engaging in the conflict with the military is strong. If there is a possibility of further deterioration of the military relations with civilians. During the PMLN government in the last few years, relations with the army have always been under complexity. These may cause new instability in Pakistan.

In the end, it is not important that any kind of government is coming for Pakistan's army, who will lead it. It is easy to influence and exploit a weak and divided coalition government rather than a strong unified administration under the control of a party.
To set up a broken alliance strategy and work independently, a strong leader like Imran will also have to struggle a lot. In truth, there is less likelihood that Imran will lead the government if the next government is a coalition government. In an interview with BBC Urdu this month, Imran said his party will not form a coalition partner with PTI PML-N or the Pakistan People's Party.

If there is a need to form an alliance in the outcome of the election, then the potential of PTI's main competing team will be a danger to the two.

If the July 25 election is strongly contested and the government's formation of a coalition government without any majority in Parliament, the purpose of the army can be fulfilled. It can be in a country that always affects everything in the army.

[Michael Kgelman's' Is Imran Khan the Pakistani military's' favorite son? 'Published in Aljazeera A senior Associate of the United States Udro Woolson International Center for Scholars Translated article by Mohammad Mamunur Rashid.]