By Justice Markandey Katju
According to a very recent opinion poll, the
popularity of Imran Khan has crossed 95% in
Pakistan.
The Pakistan army, which has thrown away its mask of being apolitical, has now emerged as the real ruler, and it is determined not to release Imran Khan from jail, where he was incarcerated after obtaining a fraudulent, pre-planned verdict from a crooked Addl Sessions Judge, rewarding him with a free trip with his family to England. The army is also determined to finish off Imran Khan politically, if not physically.
On the other hand, Imran Khan is insisting on free
and fair early elections, which seems a fair demand to any right-thinking
person. But the army is totally unwilling to concede that, knowing that Imran
Khan's PTI will sweep the polls, which will result in him becoming Prime
Minister again. This is something which is totally unacceptable to the army (
or at least its generals ).
The situation is now very clear: a terrible clash
between the Pakistan army and the Pakistan people is looming ahead..
It seems inevitable that this terrible clash will
assume the form of a long drawn civil war, the people using guerilla tactics.
While the army may initially score many victories
( as the people are initially unarmed ), this conflict will soon get bogged
down in a stalemate, as it happened to Russians in Afghanistan, or to Americans
in Vietnam.
https://writerscafeteria.com/guest-blogging/pakistan-will-become-another-vietnam-or-afghanistan/
An army can fight another army, it cannot fight
the masses. A tiger can kill a prey, it cannot kill a swarm of mosquitoes. The
British learnt this bitter lesson in the American War of Independence, Napoleon
in Spain, the French in Algeria, the Russians in Afghanistan, and the Americans
in Vietnam.
In all these conflicts, the people emerged
victorious, though after a protracted struggle, and after making tremendous
sacrifices. The same will happen in Pakistan.
(Justice Katju is a retired
judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
