Depressed Cat
Mage
- Jan 4, 2022
- 567
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, better known as Imran Khan, was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. A few hours ago, Imran Khan made history by becoming the first Pakistani Prime Minister to be unseated after losing a vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly (lower house of Parliament).
To be fair, no Prime Minister in the entire history of Pakistan has ever completed a full five year term. All were either forcibly removed in military coups, or were assassinated, or were unseated by the judiciary, or were removed from office by the Governor-General or President. Niazi has continued that tradition, but in a good sign for Pakistani democracy, he has become the first one to be democratically unseated from office.
Imran Khan assumed office as Prime Minister in 2018. His party secured the largest number of seats in the lower house, but fell short of securing a majority of its own. He was sworn in as the head of a coalition with smaller parties.
The former sports star who captained his country to its only Cricket World Cup title in 1992 promised to create a "New Pakistan", one that would be a "modern Islamic welfare state".
Despite being fully backed by the military establishment that controls a nuclear arsenal and plays a large role behind the scenes in Pakistani politics, Imran Khan eventually failed to deliver on his promises. He chose to put utterly incompetent people in key roles, and surrounded himself with dubious characters and useless advisors.
Niazi's administrative inexperience and political incompetence soon began to show on all fronts. The weak economy went from bad to worse, there were irritants in foreign relations with key allies like China & Saudi Arabia, and Niazi's cosy relationship with the military establishment (known together as the "hybrid regime") began to sour badly. Niazi tried to counter all this by catering to the demands of Islamic fundamentalists, cracking down on press freedom, and by using increasingly antagonistic & toxic anti-Western rhetoric.
When the Taliban's primitive barbarians violently took over neighbouring Afghanistan's capital Kabul by ousting the democratically-elected government as American & NATO forces withdrew, Niazi called it a victory for Afghans who "broke the shackles of slavery".
In an extremely ill-timed move, Niazi chose to visit Russia on the eve of war. He met with Putin on the very same day the bloodthirsty dictator of Russia launched his genocidal invasion of Ukraine. Niazi claimed he was "so much excited to be in Russia" and the paranoid Russian tyrant even shook hands with Niazi without keeping him at the other end of a looooooonng table
This was only because Niazi consented to take a COVID-19 test, unlike those who refused to take it, like French President Emmanuel Macron...
...or German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Niazi returned after a truncated visit that saw him sign deals to import natural gas & wheat from Russia, at a time when the entire civilised world was severing trade with the rogue regime and sanctioning the diabolical dictator and his mafiocratic minions.
Trouble was brewing for Niazi in Pakistan for a while, even before his ill-advised trip to Russia. The opposition parties had united against him and he was losing the support of some of his own party members. The united opposition called for a no-confidence motion against him that he tried to scuttle at first. Niazi's fate was sealed when some coalition partners chose to desert him and join the opposition in a move to oust him.
Unprincipled, narcissistic, megalomaniac politicians don't relinquish power so easily. Seeing the writing on the wall, Niazi suddenly fabricated a laughable conspiracy theory by claiming the opposition was "funded by foreign powers" and that he had "a letter to prove it". Instead of facing the ignominy of defeat in a vote of no-confidence, Niazi then got his lackey, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, to prevent the vote by alleging the opposition members "were not loyal to the state". Niazi then advised the President to dissolve the lower house and call for fresh elections, which the latter did.
Pakistan's democracy is very fragile with weak institutions, and it was plunged into a constitutional crisis as Niazi played a dangerous game with his political shenanigans. The opposition immediately took their case to Pakistan's Supreme Court. After days of hearing all sides and deliberating on the issue, a Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice gave a unanimous 5-0 verdict that the Deputy Speaker's move was illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered that the no-confidence motion be tabled on Saturday and voting be held the same day.
Any sane politician in his place would have done the only reasonable thing and resigned from office. Instead, megalomaniac Niazi chose to cling on to power for as long as possible. The day of reckoning arrived & wore on with his party members giving long, boring speeches on the no-confidence motion in order to delay the vote. Late in the day, Niazi held a cabinet meeting and attempted some more political shenanigans in a desperate last throw of the dice.
In what can only be described as drama at midnight, the Islamabad High Court and Pakistan Supreme Court opened their doors late at night to address the unparalleled constitutional crisis created by an adamant Niazi. Pakistan's military establishment had already lost its patience with Niazi and made it clear they were going to follow the rule of law as spelled out in the top court's verdict.
Faced with no other choice, Niazi finally gave in. He got his stooge, Speaker of the National Assembly, to resign instead of allowing the vote. This paved the way for the next in line after the Speaker & Deputy Speaker to take the chair after midnight, and the motion was immediately put to vote. As expected, Niazi lost the vote and ceased to be the Prime Minister in the wee hours of this day.
This is a glorious day for Pakistani democracy! It depended on institutions with very shaky foundations. The constitution was vulnerable to being subverted by various forces for their own gain. However, they've held strong in this crisis created by a megalomaniac wannabe dictator, and they've ensured the constitution reigns supreme. Democracies are strengthened by institutions that uphold the rule of law against power-hungry individuals who attempt to tear it apart. Pakistan's institutions have done just that by crushing the attempt of one individual to subvert the constitution. This is a victory for the fledgeling democracy. Congratulations to the people of Pakistan!
As for the 69-year-old Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, I could be wrong, but I believe the ex-cricketer has played his last innings. His political career is effectively over. He had got his one chance after a long, long time and he blew it in a spectacular manner by supping with the devil. It's going to be extremely difficult for him to make any kind of political comeback.
To be fair, no Prime Minister in the entire history of Pakistan has ever completed a full five year term. All were either forcibly removed in military coups, or were assassinated, or were unseated by the judiciary, or were removed from office by the Governor-General or President. Niazi has continued that tradition, but in a good sign for Pakistani democracy, he has become the first one to be democratically unseated from office.
Imran Khan assumed office as Prime Minister in 2018. His party secured the largest number of seats in the lower house, but fell short of securing a majority of its own. He was sworn in as the head of a coalition with smaller parties.
The former sports star who captained his country to its only Cricket World Cup title in 1992 promised to create a "New Pakistan", one that would be a "modern Islamic welfare state".
Despite being fully backed by the military establishment that controls a nuclear arsenal and plays a large role behind the scenes in Pakistani politics, Imran Khan eventually failed to deliver on his promises. He chose to put utterly incompetent people in key roles, and surrounded himself with dubious characters and useless advisors.
Niazi's administrative inexperience and political incompetence soon began to show on all fronts. The weak economy went from bad to worse, there were irritants in foreign relations with key allies like China & Saudi Arabia, and Niazi's cosy relationship with the military establishment (known together as the "hybrid regime") began to sour badly. Niazi tried to counter all this by catering to the demands of Islamic fundamentalists, cracking down on press freedom, and by using increasingly antagonistic & toxic anti-Western rhetoric.
When the Taliban's primitive barbarians violently took over neighbouring Afghanistan's capital Kabul by ousting the democratically-elected government as American & NATO forces withdrew, Niazi called it a victory for Afghans who "broke the shackles of slavery".
In an extremely ill-timed move, Niazi chose to visit Russia on the eve of war. He met with Putin on the very same day the bloodthirsty dictator of Russia launched his genocidal invasion of Ukraine. Niazi claimed he was "so much excited to be in Russia" and the paranoid Russian tyrant even shook hands with Niazi without keeping him at the other end of a looooooonng table
This was only because Niazi consented to take a COVID-19 test, unlike those who refused to take it, like French President Emmanuel Macron...
...or German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
Niazi returned after a truncated visit that saw him sign deals to import natural gas & wheat from Russia, at a time when the entire civilised world was severing trade with the rogue regime and sanctioning the diabolical dictator and his mafiocratic minions.
Trouble was brewing for Niazi in Pakistan for a while, even before his ill-advised trip to Russia. The opposition parties had united against him and he was losing the support of some of his own party members. The united opposition called for a no-confidence motion against him that he tried to scuttle at first. Niazi's fate was sealed when some coalition partners chose to desert him and join the opposition in a move to oust him.
Unprincipled, narcissistic, megalomaniac politicians don't relinquish power so easily. Seeing the writing on the wall, Niazi suddenly fabricated a laughable conspiracy theory by claiming the opposition was "funded by foreign powers" and that he had "a letter to prove it". Instead of facing the ignominy of defeat in a vote of no-confidence, Niazi then got his lackey, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, to prevent the vote by alleging the opposition members "were not loyal to the state". Niazi then advised the President to dissolve the lower house and call for fresh elections, which the latter did.
Pakistan's democracy is very fragile with weak institutions, and it was plunged into a constitutional crisis as Niazi played a dangerous game with his political shenanigans. The opposition immediately took their case to Pakistan's Supreme Court. After days of hearing all sides and deliberating on the issue, a Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice gave a unanimous 5-0 verdict that the Deputy Speaker's move was illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered that the no-confidence motion be tabled on Saturday and voting be held the same day.
Any sane politician in his place would have done the only reasonable thing and resigned from office. Instead, megalomaniac Niazi chose to cling on to power for as long as possible. The day of reckoning arrived & wore on with his party members giving long, boring speeches on the no-confidence motion in order to delay the vote. Late in the day, Niazi held a cabinet meeting and attempted some more political shenanigans in a desperate last throw of the dice.
In what can only be described as drama at midnight, the Islamabad High Court and Pakistan Supreme Court opened their doors late at night to address the unparalleled constitutional crisis created by an adamant Niazi. Pakistan's military establishment had already lost its patience with Niazi and made it clear they were going to follow the rule of law as spelled out in the top court's verdict.
Faced with no other choice, Niazi finally gave in. He got his stooge, Speaker of the National Assembly, to resign instead of allowing the vote. This paved the way for the next in line after the Speaker & Deputy Speaker to take the chair after midnight, and the motion was immediately put to vote. As expected, Niazi lost the vote and ceased to be the Prime Minister in the wee hours of this day.
This is a glorious day for Pakistani democracy! It depended on institutions with very shaky foundations. The constitution was vulnerable to being subverted by various forces for their own gain. However, they've held strong in this crisis created by a megalomaniac wannabe dictator, and they've ensured the constitution reigns supreme. Democracies are strengthened by institutions that uphold the rule of law against power-hungry individuals who attempt to tear it apart. Pakistan's institutions have done just that by crushing the attempt of one individual to subvert the constitution. This is a victory for the fledgeling democracy. Congratulations to the people of Pakistan!
As for the 69-year-old Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, I could be wrong, but I believe the ex-cricketer has played his last innings. His political career is effectively over. He had got his one chance after a long, long time and he blew it in a spectacular manner by supping with the devil. It's going to be extremely difficult for him to make any kind of political comeback.
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