‘Welcome back to old Pakistan’: Imran Khan’s ousting marks return of political dynasties

‘Welcome back to old Pakistan’: Imran Khan’s ousting marks return of political dynasties

The toppling of Khan on Sunday was a triumph for Pakistan’s leading political families, the Sharifs and Bhuttos, who were once bitter rivals but united in an alliance against the former sports superstar after he won election in 2018.

Pakistan has been ruled by the military for about half of its existence since the nation was founded in 1947 while the Bhuttos and Sharifs have led multiple civilian governments since the 1970s.

Nasir Ali Shah Bukhari, who heads brokerage KASB [Securities], said Sharif’s experience working in his family’s metals business before he went into politics would reassure the business community. “He himself is a businessman and has a thorough understanding of the challenges faced by businessmen,” Bukhari said.

Sharif and his brother Nawaz have been dogged by corruption allegations, which they say are politically motivated. Nawaz was serving a seven-year jail sentence for corruption when he got special permission to visit the UK for medical treatment in 2019. He has remained in the UK since.

Asfandyar Mir, an expert at the US Institute of Peace, said the two families found common cause as Pakistan’s powerful military sought to reduce their influence. “The military have deep disdain for both of these political parties,” Mir said. “So I suspect they’ll work together . . . they realise Khan is the common rival they have, and that he can make a comeback.”

In Progress: Regime Change in Pakistan

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To Be Updated:

In Progress: Regime Change in Pakistan

Escalation Without Consequences on the Op-Ed Page

Escalation Without Consequences on the Op-Ed Page

The United States implemented two “no-fly zones” over Iraq between 1991 and 2003, at which point the US and its partners moved on to the full-scale devastation of Iraq, killing hundreds of thousands in the process. NATO created “no-fly zones” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later over Kosovo, during the period in which NATO was dismantling Yugoslavia. In 2011, NATO imposed a “no-fly zone” in Libya, ostensibly to protect the population from Muammar Gaddafi: The result was ethnic cleansing, the emergence of slave markets, mass civilian casualties and more than a decade of war in the country.

Have We Lost Our Humanity?

Social media oligarchs and the corporate press are flooding Americans’ minds with Ukrainian officials’ pleas, most notably from President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling for the U.S. and NATO to “close the sky.” That is to implement a No-Fly-Zone over Ukraine, shoot down Russian planes, strike Moscow’s air defenses inside Russia, and otherwise start World War III. Even Senator Marco Rubio, the neoconservative spokesman, opposes this. Yes, we oversee and cheer on weapons transfers to keep the war going without any care for how much it costs in blood or treasure. But it is not enough. Zelensky says this reluctance to plunge the globe into what would almost certainly be a nuclear war shows we are losing our “humanity.”

Have We Lost Our Humanity?