If you doubt who is in charge in Pakistan ...
Islamist protesters paralysed life in Islamabad by blocking a main road. Guess who solved the problem (clue: it’s not the civilian government)
Pakistan’s powerful military has once again proved exactly who is running the country.
The army yesterday brokered a deal between the civilian government and Islamist protesters who had paralysed life in the Pakistani capital by blocking a main road connecting the federal capital to the garrison city of Rawalpindi for almost 22 days. Islamists lifted the blockade after the government agreed to force federal law minister Zahid Hamid to resign. The resignation paved the way for the two sides to reach an agreement brokered by Pakistan’s powerful army chief.
The agreement clearly stated that all sides were grateful to army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team for their “special efforts” in negotiating the deal. The leader of the Islamist group even took to the microphone to announce his gratitude.
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“The army deserves thanks for resolving the crisis. The stage was set, the army could have just taken over, they didn’t,” said defence and security expert Sohail Iqbal Bhatti.
The lockdown underscored the fragility of Pakistan’s politics, in which an unknown Islamist party is able to bring Pakistan’s civilian government to its knees.