S. Haider Mehdi
Amid all this, the Pakistani diaspora—particularly in North America—is emerging as an unexpected but powerful force demanding a return to democracy and constitutionalism.
At the center of Pakistan’s domestic crisis lies the continued incarceration of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on completely bogus charges. The stolen mandate of February 8, 2024 elections is universally acknowledged by impartial observers to have been won by Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), (Movement for Justice). Instead, the military, in complete violation of the constitution, installed a bunch of crooks and thieves in power.
Khan’s sister Aleema Khan recently noted, referring to a meeting called to discuss the attack on a train in Bahawalpur, that Khan’s party was not invited. It is inconceivable, she said that a regime with a mere 17 parliamentary seats in the National Assembly but installed in power by the generals, can claim legitimacy while excluding the country’s most popular leader from political life. No meaningful reform or resolution of Pakistan’s crises is possible without his inclusion.
But the situation has worsened.
We are now witnessing the emergence of a “hard state”—one that substitutes the rule of law with naked coercive power. This is a phrase coined by the Pakistan Army Chief, Asim Munir, seeking sweeping and brutal powers to inflict even more violence and terror than what’s been witnessed over the last three years since Khan was ousted as prime minister by the former Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Recent events paint a grim picture.
Over 16 individuals were reportedly detained in November alone. Some 62 were allegedly moved from Attock Jail to undisclosed locations by the Punjab Police—defying court orders for their release.
Journalists like Farhan Mallick of Raftar.com have been targeted and arrested merely for speaking truth to power.
The arrests of Baloch activists such as Beebagar Baloch and Dr. Hummir Baloch, reportedly without FIRs and by operatives in military garb with concealed faces, point to the involvement of shadowy intelligence units operating beyond constitutional limits.
The alleged abduction of journalist Ahmed Noorani’s brothers adds to the pattern of repression. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists issued a statement on March 20, demanding that the Pakistani authorities must immediately reveal the whereabouts of journalist Asif Karim Khehtran and the brothers of US-based exiled Pakistani journalist Ahmed Noorani, and cease their intimidation of the press.
And finally, there is the case of the arrest of Dr. Mahrang Baloch, a forceful voice seeking answers for tens of thousands of “disappeared missing Balochi persons” allegedly by Pakistani military and law enforcement agencies, without due process. These disappearances have spanned decades of ruthless authoritarianism in the highly volatile province of Balochistan.
The arrest of Baloch activists may prove the last straw in dashing any hopes of a peaceful negotiated settlement with angry Baloch voices and those who have taken up arms to fight for an Independent Balochistan.
Reportedly five protestors were also killed during the crackdown on Baloch protestors. Dr. Mahrang Baloch was arrested during these protests, allegedly by the local police. The real culprits appear to be elements of the military-officered Frontier Corps troops committing these acts, disguised in police uniforms.
These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a systemic attempt to impose a militarized order where due process is discarded. In response, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has reportedly threatened to escalate violence—issuing threats against Quetta’s military cantonment.
The ISI, Pakistan’s main intelligence agency headed by an army general, has already issued a national alert, warning of potential backlash. For the record, the military has its own intelligence agency, the Military Intelligence (MI). There is also a quasi-civilian intelligence agency, the Intelligence Bureau (IB). All these intelligence agencies are controlled, in one way or another, by the army.
In the midst of this volatility, the reappearance of Zalmay Khalilzad in Afghanistan alongside hostage expert Adam Boehler has raised eyebrows. While the official version was that it was a humanitarian mission to Kabul for the release of an American prisoner, Khalilzad’s March 11 tweet indicated something broader.
He called for Imran Khan’s release, democratic reforms, and military withdrawal from politics in Pakistan. These hint at deeper strategic intentions. His visit likely aimed to assess regional risks amid Pakistan’s threats of cross-border military actions into Afghanistan.
At a US State Department briefing, journalist Jalil Afridi of The Frontier Post asked about Imran Khan’s imprisonment and the state of democracy in Pakistan. The vague response—citing only short period of the Trump regime in office and support for stability expressed in generically bland terms—reveals that US policy on Pakistan is still in flux. However, Pakistan’s military establishment, under General Asim Munir, appears eager to position itself as a partner of the US—a familiar but increasingly fragile play.
Pakistani diaspora’s demand for democracy
Amid this, the Pakistani-American diaspora—what some call the “Form 45 diaspora”—has emerged as a force of conscience. As Mehlaqa Samdani wrote in the Foreign Policy in Focus: “Pakistan’s Secret Weapon: The Pakistani American Diaspora,” this vocal group is lobbying US lawmakers and demanding that America align its foreign policy with its democratic values. Their motivation is clear: they are not promoting any US political agenda, but standing against the erosion of civil society and constitutional rights in their homeland.
The road ahead will be perilous. But it seems some people believe the tide is turning. The military’s grip, though still formidable, is weakening.
Developments in Pakistan could go either way. Towards a very painful but peaceful journey to democracy and freedom or, a violent, anarchic descent into chaos.
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