Political turmoils, economic woes and the ineptitude to fulfill its internaional obligatioins that haunt Pakistan has hit the news headline both at home and across the world. But some Patriotic Pakistani Americans whose heart bleed for their country and hope to see a Pakistan revelling in its glory on the world stage have expressed their anguish and sounded dismay over the current situation. ‘Mr. Sajjid Tarar’, the Chairman of the ‘Muslims of America’ and Entrepreneur who is of Pakistani descent, sat with ‘India This Week’ for a passionate interview about the current political crisis that is haunting Pakistan, his motherland, and has some suggestion to alter the course so that can Pakistan can grow economically and sustain a stable political system that serves the people and put Pakistan as a stable nation capable of fulfilling its commitment to the citizenry and the international institutions and other countries.
ITW: Will you kindly introduce yourself and briefly state your opinion about the present crisis in Pakistan?
Sajid Tarar: My name is Sajid Tarar. I’m a Pakistani-American. I came as a law student to this country. I’ve been studying political science all of my life. I am a lawyer myself and the son of a lawyer. My brother is a lawyer and I am the father of a lawyer at the same time. So this is my subject matter, history, political science, and current affairs, and I’m very much concerned because I consider Pakistan as my motherland and I see America as my homeland. So I’m very much concerned about what is going on there in Pakistan right now and that’s what I’m going to talk about today.
ITW: Can you explain more about the current political turmoil in Pakistan?
Sajid Tarar: I want to talk about the role of the army in Pakistani politics, the situation with the political parties, what is going on in Pakistan right now and suggest a few solutions, and how this has an impact on the growth of India? I would like to briefly talk about the Chinese role there and the American role.
ITW: The Military seems to have a major say in Pakistani political process. How do you see it plays out?
Sajid Tarar: Talking about the historical background of the army’s role in Pakistan’s politics, General Ayub Khan was the founder of the current situation. The first time he grabbed power he introduced many rules and regulations that befits him and his hold on power. They are still in practice still today. During the entire 76 years existence of Pakistan, the army has seized power three times and created a chasm in the political process in Pakistan. For that reason, the political parties could not mature or develop their political philosophy and the Pakistani people could not learn what democracy is all about and deprived of an honest political process.
When Ayub Khan was all in all he defeated Fatima Jinnah who was the sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and held on to power. Z.A. Bhutto was created by Ayub Khan who was an army general and he served as a foreign minister during his rule. This is the historical background of Pakistan where the army inserted itself into Pakistani politics according to the old adage, where ‘might is right’. Who heads the army, he controls Pakistan. Briefly touching Bangladesh, which was East Pakistan, 60% of the entire Pakistan was East Pakistan. Right after Pakistan came into existence in the 1960s (1962 I believe), they started telling the Bangladeshis that East Pakistan is to leave Pakistan. And at the same time in East Pakistan, Mujibur Rahman had a sweep in the election. He won almost 98% seats.
ITW: How do your describe the current political stalemate in Pakistan?
Sajjid Tarar: Right now there are three political parties in Pakistan and one is called the Pakistan People’s Party the second one is Pakistan Muslim League (N) the Nawaz Sharif Group (PML-N) which was created by General Zahir-ul-Islam. The third is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan.
The army decided to have an experiment done in Pakistan. They introduced Project Imran, in 2018. Imran Khan was not able to win any election. He was sitting on the sidelines, so they not only physically but financially supported, and they were able to detach people from the two other parties to bring them under the umbrella of Pakistan. This was an experiment done because they were saying the two other parties are corrupt, let’s have somebody with a clean slate and bring him over. While Imran was captain Pakistan Cricket Team, Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup which he repeats in every speech he delivers saying how he was the one who took Pakistan to the next level in cricket.
Of course politics is not a sport. Political administration requires experience. He never had any experience running any organization or any business as a matter of fact. But the Pakistan army fell in love with them, just as they created a personae like Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, this time agencies in the army picked up Imran Khan. But in reality after assuming power, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan became more power hungry and greedy, clashed with the military establishment which led to the current crisis. Imran Khan had the first clash with the current army chief when he was serving as a Chairman of ISI, Asim Munir. He served in Saudi Arabia as a military attache. He had some corruption files and wanted to discuss them with Imran Khan. Daily Telegraph has written an article today, regarding corruption. Imran Khan has even tweeted against it.
ITW: So then what transpired between Imran Khan and the Military heads?
Sajid Tarar: Imran Khan had the first clash with the current army chief when he was serving as a Chairman of ISI, Asim Munir. He served in Saudi Arabia as a military attache. He had some corruption files and wanted to discuss them with Imran Khan. Daily Telegraph has written an article today, regarding corruption. Imran Khan has even tweeted against it.
So, this is the marriage of convenience between the army and the political parties. In 2018 Imran Khan became Prime Minister in 2018. Frankly speaking, Imran Khan doesn’t have a clear view of democratic values in the country. Before he got the no-confidence vote about a year ago, he wanted to have uninterrupted power, sole power, I mean see everything in his hand. Chief Justice, Army Chief, Election Commission Chairman has to be according to his mandates.
This is not called politics, this is called dictatorship. So he had an issue with then General Bajwa. I’m not sure, whether these are facts or mere conjectures. Gen. Bajwa has said in his interview Imran Khan called him one day, and said, “I want you to arrest all of these politicians and I want you to disqualify them for the next 10 years.” And he declined to do it saying “If you want me to do it, you have to give me a written one, otherwise, I won’t be able to do it. So this news came to the other political parties so it became part of their survival. So they got together and decided oust him from power. that either we will be going to jail or we will be disqualified for the next 10 years.
ITW: How did the political parties and the military react to Imran Khan’s demands?
Sajid Tarar: This was one of the fundamental reasons for the no-confidence vote. So they got together and they put all the votes together and this is how he was ousted from the government. Corruption was at its peak. And two things, during his four years of rule, Pakistan was completely isolated. Pakistan’s CPAC with China was stopped. With India, there was no communication going on. Diplomatic relations with the United States were strained because he continuously disparaged America. Biden never called him in four years. He had a poor relationship with Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia because he was trying to create a TV station or some other Muslim organization, parallel to OIC. OIC is an organization that the Saudis have a big influence on. So Mohammed bin Salman was very upset with them, and that’s why you’re communicating with Turkey and Malaysia to create a block against me. So it was complete isolation, especially from China and other countries. So you can imagine, and as a matter of fact, another blunder he did, he visit to Russia was on the day when the Russia-Ukraine war started. I mean, you can well imagine what kind of administration he had, what kind of advisors he had, what kind of foresight he had for the future. So there were many blunders and corruption was at its peak.
ITW: Imran Khan entered Politics as a hero of the People. People of Pakistan and Cricket lovers all across the world adored him. What happened to him to change so fast?
Sajid Tarar: Imran Khan is an Oxford graduate. He’s a very handsome-looking guy. He has a daughter from an American girlfriend, Sita White, and then he has two sons from Jemima, which is a Goldman family from England. So the thing is this gentleman when he went to Pakistan, his slogan was Naya Pakistan (New Pakistan). But later on, he was told that you have to change that and sell religion in Pakistan, which I definitely don’t recommend or I approve of. Now he says that I’m going to build the Riyasat-e-Madina which is a holy land for every Muslim in Madina created during the time of our Prophet Muhammad. It was a very ideal state. It is almost impossible today. But he just gave assurances to the Muslims because he was told by the agencies that instead of Naya Pakistan if you start selling religion it will sell and he was very successful in it then his movement was called Amar Bil Maroof. So he is completely transformed from an Oxford guy to a spiritual leader right now.
ITW: What do you say about the present crisis that is devouring Pakistan’s political, economic and social survival? How can they be resolved to benefit the citizenry?
Sajid Tarar: I believe Pakistan can survive the present turmoil. I definitely do not agree with selling Jihad to the next generation. In the 21st century, instead of having an idea of digital Pakistan, instead of telling them what is artificial intelligence, instead of telling them what is, how we need to export Pakistani products promoting the industrial revolution in Pakistan, promoting religious fundamentalism and intolerance would be detrimental to development. We need to learn from China, the growth they have achieved in the last 40 years.
See how the Indians are doing. Tesla is going there after Apple. So instead of trade promoting jihad will not ameliorate Pakistani life. It means this is not politics, it is jihad. Does the next generation of Pakistanis need jihad? It is not in our DNA as Pakistanis to fight jihad. We never fought against the British. We never fought against the Mughals. This jihad idea is imported from abroad. But you are creating and selling them. But, I mean to say again, it’s a very dangerous situation. The last time Islamic religion was sold to Pakistani masses was during the Zia period and we’re still paying the price for that. And today he is telling them, he is giving them an Islamic utopia concept in the 21st century which is a fiction. And I or any educated Pakistani would definitely condemn that.
ITW: From this Morass, do you see a bright future for Pakistan on the Horizon?
Sajid Tarar: As I told you, economy is the circulation of wealth. Manufacturing and assembly, from Tesla to Apple to armaments, to microchips enable the circulation of wealth. But if there is unrest in your neighborhood, this economy can be slowed down, which can have a negative impact on it. I always tell the Pakistani administration that they need to work with India. Matter of fact, not only this, the Pakistan-India relationship is a matter of Pakistan’s national interest. Not only with India, they need to have good relationship with Iran, Afghanistan, China. They are the neighbors. You can change everything, but you cannot change your neighbors.
So this is what it is. I am a big fan of the idea that Pakistan should start a dialogue with India and stop this radicalization movement.
As a matter of fact, the future is looking bright because now the step has been taken up. On May 9th the day that Imran Khan was arrested they burned everything. They attacked the military installations, they attacked the court, and the government is taking strict action against it. I support that because when the state is challenged and displays weakness, it is never good, I don’t have any political motives in Pakistan, and I don’t support any political party in Pakistan.
My party is Pakistan and I hope that Pakistan has law and order restored and move towards digital Pakistan to become a good neighbor to the region. The current administration is antithetical to the growth of Pakistan itself because they do not embrace economic liberalism. Well, the current situation is so dire. Let me give you two references and a supporting argument.
Wall Street Journal wrote an article about two or three weeks back on Imran Khan. They said Imran Khan is the most popular leader right now but at the same time, they said he is reckless, radical and has impractical ideas for the economy. The second one is, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) the one that is ruling right now they are a group of 11 political parties so they already have their issues because 11 parties cannot move together. It’s very weak
