New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Pakistan’s Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) continue to remain on the boil, and with no solution in sight, there appears to be growing discontent among the political class, which has now started questioning the decisions that are made by the military.
An official said that Pakistan is heading for a major confrontation between the political class and the military.
While Field Marshal Asim Munir has managed to control the narrative with an iron fist, the political class seems to be losing patience.
The political class, which has to face the people, is unable to explain the violence that is taking place in regions such as Balochistan, PoK, and KP.
It has been speaking about internal threats, while the military only blames the problems on external threats.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the narrative about India being the aggressor is no longer working, with the protests in PoK a case in point.
There is a direct comparison that is being made between the state of affairs in PoK and Jammu and Kashmir. In terms of infrastructure, the people of PoK are questioning the Pakistani administration about the discrepancies, the official said.
The recent statements made by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz are testimony to the actual ongoings in Pakistan. She blamed internal terrorism over external threats from India as the real problem that is plaguing Pakistan.
Another official said that the political class is clearly fed up with the narrative that is being controlled by the military. Such control, which has always existed, has only become worse under Munir. The military has managed to shut down such opposition, but it does not seem to be working any longer.
The problem for the military is that the political class and also the people are no longer towing its line.
Pakistan watchers say that if such a scenario continues, it would frustrate the military, and there is bound to be a full-blown confrontation with the political class.
Maryam Nawaz spoke about the need for better coordination and technology while also addressing the issues faced by the people to solve the ongoing issues in Balochistan, KP and PoK.
The military, on the other hand, is forming death squads and funding them heavily to beat down the protests and agitations in these regions. This shows that the political and military classes are on two separate pages. The military may try its level best to control the narrative, but with growing voices of dissent, it is only a matter of time before the situation goes out of control and there is a full-blown confrontation, an official said.
–IANS
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