Abdul Aziz

Since 2021, Pakistani politics has undergone significant changes, mainly triggered by the PDM passing a no-confidence motion against the existing regime, the government of Imran Khan. Secondly, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit will be held in Pakistan this year, with the participation of its arch-foe, India's Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Thirdly, all regimes in Pakistan, including the incumbent government (PDM), Imran Khan's PTI and the establishment, are struggling for a quid pro quo. Moreover, at this stage, the government and the establishment are sabotaging and despising each other.

However, after the no-confidence motion was passed against the PDM government, Imran Khan lashed out at the government and the establishment saying that there was a conspiracy and a plot against my government through the involvement of the US. As a result, there was a wave of anger among the people. Imran Khan held several rallies in many parts of Pakistan. Despite this, chaos broke out all over Pakistan, especially on the day of May 9. Moreover, after the May 9 incident, the PDM government took strict measures to prevent this repression and arrested the former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

On the contrary, elections were held on 08 February 2024; Imran Khan's party, PTI, appeared to be winning seats across Pakistan with a majority, but the results were reversed at many polling stations, however, PTI issued a statement that the election was completely rigged and made allegations against the establishment and the government regarding their involvement. In particular, the government formed by Shahbaz Sharif (PMLN) with the alliance of Asif Ali Zardari (PPP) in this case, many scholars, media journalists, lawyers and politicians have stated that the judiciary is subject to internal divisions that influence judicial decisions through external pressures. In this context, allegations have been levelled against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by the political faction such as the PTI. His tenure will end on 25 October; therefore, the present government and other institutions are discussing to extend his tenure to counter the political party and secure their own interests through judicial means.

On the other hand, the political party (PTI), on the call of Imran Khan, has started nationwide street protests to prevent the idea of constitutional amendment and also to advocate for the independence of the judiciary. In response, the government imposed Section 144 in many cities. Meanwhile, the SCO summit this month reflects the consensus of the government and institutions to counter the protests. Moreover, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the timing of the protest was unfortunate and also accused the party of trying to sabotage Pakistan's diplomatic efforts. In another dimension, India's Foreign Secretary Jaishankar claims that India is participating in this SCO summit in Pakistan as a member of the organisation and not to resolve issues between India and Pakistan.

To sum up the discussion, the PTI party is taking advantage of the summit to put pressure on the government and other institutions by protesting at this critical time; on the other hand, the institutions and the government are cracking down on the PTI protests in the name of the summit, but from the perspective of the ground reality, everyone is fighting for the status quo.

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Abdulaziz is student of BS International Relations at the University of Central Punjab, Pakistan. He has a passion for exploring global issues, particularly in the areas of conflict resolution, international security, and diplomacy.