The world has accepted the change of government in Pakistan. The newly elected government is gradually settling down despite the serious challenges that it has yet to cope with. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received congratulatory messages from the Gulf states, the USA and countries of the European Union. After his forthcoming visit to Saudi Arabia he is scheduled to hold talks in Beijing. On Tuesday Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates assured the new PM of the continued support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the fight against polio. TI chief Imran Khan however continues to call into question the legitimacy of the new government, maintaining that it was brought to power through a US conspiracy. He calls himself a victim of CIA’s underhand methods like the 1950’s Iranian PM Mohammad Mosaddegh and Chile’s President Allende two decades later. Dr Mosaddegh had dared to nationalise the giant British Petroleum Company, a measure that threatened vital economic interests of the USA and its allies. Chile’s Marxist President was overthrown as he tried to turn Chile, located in Washington’s sphere of influence, into a socialist state. Imran Khan fails to explain what earth shaking feat he had performed to earn the US ire and how he escaped the horrendous punishment meted out to the two leaders despite the immense pubic support they enjoyed.
Imran Khan falsely accuses the USA of giving money to media outlets to defame him. The USA, he claims bribed PTI politicians to turn them into dissidents. Interestingly, two of them are known to be PTI’s major financers.
Mr Khan wants dissidents to be disqualified for life from holding public office. He wants immediate elections. For years the PTI created hurdles in the investigation of its foreign funding case. Now that investigation in its own case has been finally completed, the PTI does not want the verdict to be announced till completion of the audit of accounts of 101 political parties named by it.
Since the mainstream media stuck to independent reporting and a section of PTI leaders dared to differ with r Khan’s disastrous policies, both were accused of being in the USA’s pay. Since the ECP insists on following the law instead of acting according to Imran Khan’s whims, the PTI demands the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation. At a time when fascistic tendencies are on the rise one expects the government to stand up to mob rule, discourage false news and ensure media freedom.
