IMRAN Khan, a past global sports hero, is languishing in a Pakistani jail because the military gorillas that have been in control of Pakistan since the British empire divided the subcontinent into India and Pakistan are afraid to free him because he will win elections again.
One of the continuing atrocities of the world is the permanent rule of the generals in Pakistan since 1945. There is no country in the world since World War 2 ended where the military has been in power since then, more than Pakistan. The military gorillas perpetuate their vulgar crudity by allowing for sham elections whereby you have a civilian government. But every elected government in Pakistan is controlled by the gorillas. Imran Khan refused to be their toy, so they removed him through a palace coup.
Khan is the world’s most unfortunate soul in the world because of geopolitical realities. In a position that Julian Assange was in, he did not have the global space that Assange had, and that was what freed Assange. The Americans charged Assange with treason even though Assange did not set foot on US soil and never worked for the US government.
Assange was handed secret information by a then-US security employee, Chelsea Manning. He shared information with the Western media. Manning was charged and pardoned by President Obama. Western governments and the Western media create reverberating noise when a tenth-rate spy is arrested by Iran or China or Russia.
Democracy in the West didn’t recognise what Western democracy did to Assange. They left him to rot in a British prison. He was repeatedly denied bail by a judiciary in the UK, which forms part of the final court for many CARICOM island states. For some twisted psychic reason, there are Prime Ministers in CARICOM that believe British judges are morally superior to the judges in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). There is a Prime Minister in CARICOM, Gaston Brown of Antigua, who said the CCJ isn’t mature as yet. Antigua isn’t mature as yet because if it did, how could it have voted for Brown?
Julian Assange was saved from death in a British prison because Australia, where he is from, has an integrated security relationship with the United States. So the Australian PM, Anthony Albanese told President Biden that as a friend he is requesting the release of Assange.
No country in the world wants to irritate the Pakistani military gorillas for geopolitical reasons by requesting a pardon for Khan. Here is why. Indian opposition parties cannot do it because PM Modi will use it to say that they are pro-Pakistan, a country that is the enemy of India. No one in India wants to run that risk.
The EU will not do it because they are afraid to alienate the generals in Pakistan, who in a moment of vexation might threaten Western geopolitical interests in the Middle East. You see, Pakistan is not anti-Iran, and any pressure on the gorillas may push Pakistan closer to Iran. Plus, Pakistan has a collective security treaty with Saudia Arabia. In such a delicate situation, the EU has no interest in Imran Khan.
The United States will not touch the issue because geopolitics is the reason why Khan is in jail in the first place. When the putsch toppled Khan, he blamed the CIA. Khan and the military gorillas had a falling out. Khan as Prime Minister refused to let the military dictate foreign policy.
In a strange twist of events, Khan was slowing down Pakistan’s rage against India. This was the line Khan crossed. The gorillas in the Pakistani armed forces decided that Khan had gone too far. Imran Khan is all alone with the world forgetting about him.
Even if the world intercedes and gets Khan to be pardoned, the armed forces in Pakistan are afraid of his reelection. Khan, as Prime Minister once more will seek another confrontation with his nemesis. It is doubtful that the generals will have the same space to manoeuvre in a second stint of Khan as Prime Minister. We don’t know if the gorillas agreed to a pardon with Khan signing a document that prevents him from entering politics again.
There is a slight hope for Khan. His former wife is one of the richest socialites in the UK, Gemima Goldsmith. Her two sons with Khan are grown up and are speaking out. The foreign minister of the UK, Miliband, is a closet leftist, and Khan’s two sons should pressure him to save Khan. The world must not abandon this former global icon.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
