Regime Change In Pakistan: The Conspiracy And Its Aftermath – Analysis

The Conspiracy, Conspirators, and Abettors 

My article titled, “Upsurge of Foreign–sponsored Terrorism and Subversion for ‘Regime Change’ in Pakistan” (1), was published on 20 March 2022, i.e. three weeks before the Regime Change conspiracy in Pakistan was actualized by the conspirators and abettors. It highlighted that:- 

After quite a period of internal security calm in Pakistan a new wave of deadly acts of terrorism had commenced; and in tandem with these acts, the opposition parties had also raised the impetus of their efforts for Regime Change, i.e. to remove the existing elected government of Prime Minister Imran Khan from political power and install their own government.
As for the renewed upsurge of foreign–sponsored terrorism, while the long history of India’s enmity and hostility is already known, the role of US’ Establishment in using terrorism as a tool of attaining its ‘hegemonic’ objectives in world affairs is also well–acknowledge. In that context quotation of just three credible persons should suffice – (iii) India’s Saeed Naqvi the distinguished fellow of Observer Research Foundation of New Delhi (India) asserted that “I have in recent columns written about the US Establishment’s role in promoting terrorism as an unstated asset. The distillate of this wisdom is available extensively in the columns of New York Time’s Thomas Friedman”. (2); (ii) Polymeropoulos, a highly decorated senior intelligence service officer, who was a Middle–East and South Asia specialist operation officer of CIA and retired in July 2019, admitted in an interview that “The most interesting part of the US relationship in the counter–ISIS (Daesh) campaign is that we partnered in essence with a terrorist group, the PKK”. (3); and (iii) In 2017 Afghanistan’s and other media reported that when ISIS suffered crippling defeat in Middle East and was compelled to disperse, its remnants were brought secretly by US to Afghanistan and deployed in unmarked helicopters in Tora Bora cave complex in Nangarhar close to border with Pakistan. Even Hamid Karzai, who was himself the US–planted President of Afghanistan for 12 years from 2002 to 2014, had in an interview accused US for the emergence and flourishing of ISIS in Afghanistan and its collusion with US. (4)
There were/are unmistakable evidences/credible reports – including those of recovery of US–made state of the art weapons from the terrorists in Baluchistan – that the premier intelligence agency of US (CIA), supported by India’s (RAW), Israel’s (Mossad) and UK’s (MI–6) were/are behind this upsurge of terrorism for creating chaos in the country as a prelude to subversion of political parties for Regime Change in Pakistan and bringing in an ‘assuredly pliant and subservient’ government in the country.
US planned for this Regime Change because it was after many decades of the successive ‘pliant and subservient’governments in Pakistan of Nawaz Sharif’s PMLN and Asif Zardari’s PPP that Pakistani masses had brought Imran Khan’s party PTI to power through general elections in 2018; and, in formulating Pakistan’s national policies, Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to accept any foreign pressure which was against Pakistan’s national interest or the concept of national sovereignty. US thus wanted their ‘tested pliant and subservient’ parties to rule Pakistan again even though against the will of Pakistani nation. The obvious US’ choice thus was for PMLN and PPP whose leaders (Nawaz Sharif’s and Asif Zardari’s families) have their enormous corruption–gotten wealth hidden in UK, US and other countries in the form of companies, property, bank accounts, etc., and thus they could not/ cannot afford to disobey US’ dictates.
Even Maulana Fazalur Rahman, leader of his religious party JUIF, is included in that list of “pliants and subservients” because (i) he is under investigation for massive corruption charges, and is reported to have “plundered billions of rupees from national exchequer through his frontmen when he was a public office holder during the past regimes”, and have “made investment abroad and bought properties in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)” besides making enormous properties in different parts of Pakistan. (5); and (ii) at one stage when there were chances of PPP (then under Benazir Bhutto) forming the government after Musharraf’s government, Maulana Fazalur Rahman invited Anne Patterson US’ ambassador in Pakistan over a lunch meeting. Discussions in that meeting were reported by Anne Patterson in a classified message to US. That message was leaked by Wiki Leaks and was published in the world including Pakistan. In that message Anne Patterson had communicated to US government that (underlining added for highlighting): “Responding to an invitation, Ambassador met for lunch with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) leader Fazlur Rehman on November 20. Ambassador reiterated that the USG supporting lifting the state of emergency and steps to ensure the elections are free and fair.  Rehman agreed, but he affirmed that his party would not boycott the elections. Seeking USG approval in the event he became Prime Minister,”——–.; “Also attending the lunch were Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Senator Talha Mahmood, Senator Aza Swati and Malik Sikander Khan”—-.; and “Even if JUI-F’s voter support drops, he has made it clear that, free and fair elections notwithstanding, his still significant number of votes are up for sale”. (6)

US then started its covert political subversion techniques to collate its pliant and subservient parties to put up a joint challenge to Imran Khan’s coalition government. For that purpose Asif Zardari’s PPP, Nawaz Sharif’f PMLN, and Maulana Fazalur Rahman’s JUIF readily joined hands; and managed to bring in their fold other smaller parties, forming the alliance called PDM. And, of course, the power–hungry Maulana Fazalur Rahman, who was sulking being out of parliament after being soundly rejected by public vote in 2018 elections, was made the head of PDM.

Additionally, in October 2021 US’ diplomats in US embassy Islamabad started meetings with PTI’s parliamentarians, parliamentarians of PTI government’s coalition partner parties, other parties’ leaders, and Pakistan’s media persons, to subvert their loyalties to support US’ conspiracy for Regime Change in Pakistan. Those US’ efforts continued till March 2022 and ultimately succeeded; and many PTI’s parliamentarians as well as coalition partner parties, and many Pakistani media persons accepted to become ‘turn coats’ to support the Regime Change Conspiracy. (7).

To further solidify those efforts to purchase the conscience of those ‘turn coats’, huge monetary payments were brazenly made to those ‘turn coats’ in Sind Government’s official Sind House located in close vicinity of important buildings like Supreme Court etc. in the Red Zone of Islamabad (8); and police from Sind (under PPP provincial government) was brought to safeguard this activity in Sind House. (9)   

Then US’ Assistant Secretary Donald Lu met Pakistan’s ambassador to US and communicated the threat, referring to a move by Pakistan’s opposition parties for vote of no confidence against PM Imran Khan. He threatened that “If the vote of no confidence does not succeeded and Prime minister Imran Khan remains in office, He will be isolated from US and we will take the issue head on. If the vote of no confidence succeeds, all will be forgiven“. (10) And, then that move also materialised.

Details are already known as to how that no confidence move was made to work for actualising US’ conspired Regime Change in Pakistan during the night 9/10 April 2022. However the most unfortunate aspect of that was the fact that the unprecedented acts of Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court suddenly opening up in that night, as well as deployment of Islamabad police and the rangers with prisoner vans without the orders of the interior minister, gave the impression to the masses that all those acts were linked to the actualisation of the Regime Change conspiracy.

The Astoundingly Defiant Reaction of the Masses

However, the conspirators and abettors of that Regime Change conspiracy got their first shock when Pakistani masses in the country and abroad put up an immediate defiant reaction to that Regime Change. In a completely unprecedented manner Pakistani masses, educated and uneducated alike, immediately came out in the streets in tens of thousands throughout the country, and vehemently announced their refusal to accept that US–sponsored Regime Change.

That reaction was certainly surprising from the masses who have historically been mostly docile to such governmental changes in the past accepting those as fait accompli. However, that sudden major change in the behaviour of Pakistani masses can be understood relying upon the two branches of epistemology (the theory of knowledge), i.e. revealed knowledge and man–made knowledge.

Available explanation of this phenomenon in the revealed knowledge is provided by Ayah 30 of Surah Al–Anfal in Quran.

Translation “Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home).They plot and plan, And God too plans, But the best of planners is God”. (11)

From this verdict given by our Creator Allah (SWT) it is evident without doubt that this time around Allah (SWT) intervened to save Pakistani masses from this conspiracy, and it was His plan which checkmated the plan of the Regime Change conspirators and abettors.

And, the man–made knowledge relating to human behaviour clearly leads to the understanding that this change of masses’ behaviour occurred due to two factors: i.e.

The open and criminally arrogant acts of US to communicate the threat through Pakistan’s ambassador to remove Pakistan’s elected government of Imran Khan from power or else to face the consequences, and then having that threat materialised conspiratorially with the help of US’ “tentacles” in Pakistan, greatly hurt Pakistani nation’s national pride; and,
The “Regime Change” PDM government thus brought to power by that US’ conspiracy was/is led by the well–known corruption and money laundering political mafia of Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari under whose alternative governments during last three decades Pakistani nation had already suffered miserable socio–economic suffering.

This mindset of the masses defying this ‘Regime Change’ PDM government, therefore, is not only undefeatable; it is also getting more and more strengthened now as a reaction to the extremely fascist and criminally inhuman manner of this PDM government in openly defying rule of law and human rights throughout Pakistan for criminally crushing its opponents/critics. That is also the reason that Imran Khan’s popularity graph in the masses is continuously rising – has crossed the 76 percent mark by now in the recent by– elections.

Damages Already Done due to Regime Change

Factually right from its inception this ‘Regime Change’ PDM government was bound to be a governance failure and hence to bring serious disaster in the country; reasons being:-

Most of the hierarchical leaderships of PDM’s main parties are either convicted criminals or facing court charges of corruption, money– laundering, or other crime – 60 percent of its original cabinet members were/are on bail for such cases pending in courts. Entire focus of this PDM government was therefore expected to be only on getting themselves out of law’s grip on them due to their criminal acts. And, for that purpose, after forming the PDM government they have been busy only in amending the related laws/rules through acts of the ‘Regime Change parliament’, and appointing their ‘pliant officials’ in National Accountability Bureau and other law enforcing institutions. They had/have no interest in, or time for, resolving governance matters/issues. So far they have already succeeded in getting rid of many of the corruption/money laundering cases against them, including such cases of Rupees eleven hundred billion against Nawaz Sharif’s, Shahbaz Sharif’s, Asif Zardari’s, and affiliates’ families;
The PDM government comprises of 13 political parties of different ideological mindset/political objectives. These parties continue vying for political power, hence too unwieldy for logical governance decisions;
These 13 PDM component parties are so greedy of ‘governmental advantages’ that through ‘political blackmail’ these have by now forced the PDM prime minister to increase his cabinet ministerial appointments from the original 34 to a mammoth number of 76 – causing huge unnecessary burden of billions of Rupees per month on the already badly depleted national treasury, thus further aggravating Pakistan’s economy crisis.

It is because of these reasons that since the last six months, after the installation of PDM government, economy as also political and internal stability of Pakistan has nose–dived to catastrophic proportion. In that:-  

Pakistan’s economy (which under Imran Khan’s PTI government despite Covid–19 damages had produced a rise of GDP growth rate from –0.9 % in 2020 to a booming 6 % (12) by beginning of 2022), has crashed downwards to “only 2 percent in the current fiscal year ending June 2023” (13).
Due to the professional inability as also lack of attention for carefully making logical governmental decisions by PDM government: massive new wide–ranging taxes worth about Rupees 876 billion have been levied in the country(14); fuel prices have been exorbitantly raised, as compared to the prices under Imran Khan’s PTI government (Table below). As a result of these ill–conceived policies of PDM, prices of even essential food items and medicine have gone beyond the reach of majority of the masses.

Pakistan Rupee has suffered devaluation against US Dollar, in that “The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) crashed by about 17 per cent against the US dollar in the month of July 2022 owing to weakness in balance of payment and political instability”. (17) And, devaluation of Pakistan Rupee has gone further in subsequent months; further raising the already unbearable price hike of essential food items/commodities.
Pakistan’s textile industry is the largest foreign exchange earner for the country. It contributes “more than 60 % to the country’s total exports” (18) During the last fiscal year (2021–2022) it had boomed because Imran Khan’s PTI government had kept electricity and gas prices under control and had provided the textile industry with competitive power tariff. But the PDM government not only withdrew that competitive power tariffs to this industry, it also exorbitantly raised electricity bills. As a result now this industry finds itself economically unfeasible to function. As a result in the beginning of  October 2022  All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) announced the decision “to shut down textile units across the country from Saturday to protest the withdrawal of competitive power tariffs.”; “1,600 textile mills have already shut shops”; and “Five million employees will lose their jobs and 30 million people will be affected due to the closure of these units”. (19)
Asif Zardari’s PPP Sindh government’s ineptitude in preventing flood disasters, and criminal negligence in proving essential relief work after recent flood calamity, has caused immense human, economic and material loss of masses in Sindh province. (20) In that context latest World Bank report has also highlighted, “Poverty in the hardest–hit regions will likely worsen in the context of the recent flooding. Preliminary estimates suggest that – without decisive relief and recovery efforts to help the poor – the national poverty rate may increase by 2.5 to 4 percentage points, pushing between 5.8 and 9 million people into poverty. (21)
According to a 13 September 2022 report, the Global Report on Food Crises 2022 has highlighted that “Pakistan is experiencing a growing debt crisis, significant currency depreciation and a record food inflation, reducing households’ purchasing power”. (22)
As a result of these criminally inept policies Pakistani masses are facing unbearable miseries, to the extent that:- 
About the current massive price hike in the country, the report published on 1st November 2022 highlighted that according to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, inflation based upon Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was just 9.2 % during Imran Khan’s PTI government in October 2021, has risen as high as 26.6 % by October 2022 under PDM government.(23) Due to this unbearable price hike created by ‘Regime Change PDM government’, specially of essential food items and medicine, more than half of Pakistani masses are finding it too difficult to pay for what is needed to survive; 
An article published on 23rd of October 2022 has highlighted that according to the survey report of International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), “it is a fact that 77.60 percent of Pakistan’s population lives in poor conditions (less than $5.50 per day income)”. (24)
Due to the aforementioned ineptitude of Asif Zardari’s PPP provincial government in preventing flood disasters and criminal negligence in proving essential relief work after recent flood calamity, the unbearable poverty of masses in Sindh has reached the stage where according to recent report from Mirpur Khas, “People who have lost everything have been left with no option but to sell their young and underage girls to feed their starving families and to get their ailing near and dear ones treated at private hospitals”. (25)

And now, people of Pakistan, elite and masses alike, are facing further worst of the ‘Regime Change’ disaster. In that, when the thus traumatised Pakistanis started raising their voices against these miseries unleashed due the government policies, the ‘Regime Change PDM government’ resorted to most inhuman fascist measures. Those include:-

Extreme inhuman custodial torture of media persons, professor, and senator; 
Blackmailing in the most inhuman manner; registering false and baseless cases against the opposition party leaders to arrest them and keep them under detention; 
Forcefully gagging the media, obliterating the universal human right of freedom of speech; 
Denying the right of people to launch peaceful protest.

And that fascism of “Regime Change” PDM government went further when PDM’s interior minister and other PDM leaders conveyed murder threat to Imran Khan. And that threat was then actualised after just a few days when assassination of Imran Khan was attempted by more than one assassins during his public rally in Wazirabad. One of his supporters was killed and about 11 PTI leaders around Imran Khan were wounded. Imran Khan was seriously wounded. One of the assassins was arrested. Imran Khan, being the main aggrieved person, sent his complaint to the concerned police station for registering the FIR about his assassination attempt. In his complaint Imran Khan nominated three persons, i.e. PDM’s prime minister, interior minister and a senior officer of intelligence agency, for their involvement in his assassination attempt. PDM government forced the media not to disclose the name of that senior officer and his intelligence agency; though through the social media name of that officer and intelligence agency, as mentioned by Imran khan in his complaint, became known to everyone in Pakistan and abroad. However the police, which is legally bound to register such FIR according to the complaint of the complainant, refused to do so. Even the inspector general of provincial police showed his inability for registration of FIR because the complaint included the name of that senior officer of intelligence agency. That act of police authority shocked the nation, because it reflected that “powerful elite” is above even the constitution of Pakistan. That disgusting realisation, if not mended immediately, is most likely to create dangerous polarisation between the nation and the powerful organs of the Establishment of the country.

This alarming economic breakdown, obliteration of rule of law, chaos and instability thus created in Pakistan suits the US’ design to bring Pakistan to its knees to accept US’ dictates in international politics, including: (a) US’ requirements of Pakistan accepting to have “US’ desired” relations with US’ main strategic partner India despite India’s recent illegal actions in Kashmir, and diplomatically “opening up” with Israel despite Israel’s illegal actions in Palestine; and (b) ultimately compelling Pakistan to forego its nuclear weapon assets. Recent reports have already shown the inclination of PDM government to so diplomatically “open up” with India and Israel. And recent statement of US president Joe Biden also indicates that US is now eying the opportunity to actualise its objective relating to the nuclear assets of Pakistan. In his speech at a reception of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee US president clearly declared, “Pakistan is one of the ‘most dangerous’ nations which has nuclear weapons without any cohesion”. (26) When that declaration of US’ president received serious criticism by Pakistani public, some of the US’ officials issued statements to the contrary to save the situation, but in vain; because “White House press secretary Karine Jean–Pierre said there was nothing new in Biden’s statement regarding Pakistan’s nuclear assets, clarifying that the Democrat leader has made such comments before as well.” (27)

Current Situation 

Salient features of the current happenings:- 

Despite public’s anguished uproar, PTI–PMLQ ruled Punjab government’s police stuck to its stance of not recording the FIR according to the complaint of former Prime Minister Imran Khan who is the aggrieved person in the case of his murder attempt. That act clearly shows that “powerful elite” is above even the constitution of Pakistan, and that it can obliterate rule of law at will.
Journalist Arshad Sharif who was credibly lifting the veil of the “Regime Change conspiracy in Pakistan”, indicating who could possibly be the conspirators and abettors abroad and in Pakistan, was targeted by the “Regime Change” PDM government by registering multiple serous cases against him in different parts of Pakistan – some even carrying death sentence. Then a life threat was conveyed to him. He appealed to the PDM government and the court to provide him safety from such threat, but no action was taken by the authorities. Thus pressurised, he had to leave the country, but he was followed by the conspirators and was got murdered after severe torture in Kenya. His postmortem was conducted in Islamabad’s government hospital. His mother contacted the hospital authority to get copy of the postmortem report which is her legal right. Hospital authorities refused to provide her that report, blatantly obliterating their constitutional obligation – and all state/governmental organs preferred to remain silent! Again a show of the “powerful elite” being above the constitution/rule of law.
In the case of the media persons, professor, and senator – who critisised the “Regime Change conspiracy” and were picked up by Islamabad police and subjected to extreme inhuman custodial torture by the organs of PDM government – justice has still not been provided to these aggrieved persons despite public’s pronounced indignation.
The brutal practice of registering fabricated cases and thus getting arrest warrants of Imran Khan and his party leaders continues unabated by PDM government.
Due to the lack of attention of the “self–serving” PDM government crime rate in Pakistan has increased manifold, as shown by these media reports:- 

Pakistan Revenue report of June 2022 – “It is generally known that affordability issues in buying essential items lead to rise in street crime. Pakistan is witnessing massive surge in prices of essential items over the period of last few months with the rise in prices of commodities ———”. (28)
GEO News report of September 2022 – “More than 56,500 street crimes were reported in Karachi in the ongoing year, so far”. (29)
DAWN report of September 2022 – ISLAMABAD: “A significant increase was seen in criminal cases in the capital, with 9,804 criminal activities reported in the city between Jan 1 and Aug 31 this year. This was an increase 141. 2 pc when compared to 2021 when 4,063 criminal activities occurred”. (30)

As a result, according to Daily Times report of August 2022, “Pakistan has a rising crime rate. Some have linked rising crime rates to unemployment, illiteracy, rising inflation, and poverty. That is why people are forced to commit crimes to meet their basic needs. Meanwhile, citizens are constantly in a state of fear and insecurity. Most people have either been victims of street crimes themselves or know someone who was a victim recently. Going to a crowded bazaar in broad daylight is as unsafe as travelling on a deserted road at night. Lack of security is affecting the overall well–being of society”. (31)

The Upshot 

The aforementioned ground realities clearly show that this “Regime Change” in Pakistan – conspired by US and implemented with the help of the conspiracy abettors in Pakistan – has unleashed the spate of untold unbearable miseries on the nation as a whole. In Islamic terminology this act certainly falls in the category of ‘Zulm’ (most inhuman oppression), and those who conspired or abetted in the implementation of this Regime Change conspiracy fall in the category of ‘Zalemun’ (wrongdoers who commit Zulm). These Zalemun may be thinking that they are too powerful to be accounted for their crime, but what certainly awaits them in their destiny is laid down by none other than our Creator Allah Almighty Himself in Quran (Surah Ibrahim, Ayah 42):-

(Translation. Think not that God doth not heed the deeds of those who do wrong. He but giveth them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror.) (32)

This heinous Regime Change conspiracy has two distinctly marked aspects i.e. (a) US’ covert criminal intervention in Pakistan’s internal state affairs, and (b) the consequential untold miseries unleashed on the nation. These have aroused in the nation a very high degree of irremediable feeling of hatred and vengeance against the conspirators and abettors. As a result: (a) Imran Khan’s current massive national movement, led by the youth, is bound to succeed in getting the country rid of this heinous “Regime Change” PDM government; and (b) US will find it too difficult to earn the goodwill of Pakistani nation.

Additionally three more consequential effects are most likely to dominate Pakistan’s body politic in the immediate and near future time frames: (a) most of the PDM parties, particularly PMLN, PPP, and JUIF will find it too difficult even to survive politically; (b) Establishment will have to remain out of politics; and (c) henceforth ‘Will of the people’ will dominate to introduce and retain rule of law in the country.