Question:
In the past week, matters in Pakistan became critical between the government and Nawaz Sharif. He was placed under house arrest on March 15, 2009, but he defied it. Then, the US Secretary of State contacted Nawaz Sharif and Zardari, and the crisis ended. On March 16, 2009, the government decided to reinstate the judges, and Nawaz Sharif calmed down. Why did the situation escalate and explode, only to be calmed by an American phone call? Furthermore, why was the focus of America, the Pakistani government, and the media during this crisis centered on Nawaz Sharif specifically, rather than other opposition leaders?
Answer:
As is well known, Musharraf had allowed Bhutto to return from London to Pakistan as part of a deal between America and Britain, and subsequently between Musharraf and Bhutto. However, Bhutto exploited Musharraf's crimes and the people's hatred for him, attempting to use the situation to her advantage and failing to commit to the deal. She was later assassinated.
Following that, the leadership within the People's Party (PPP), who had sided with the British during Bhutto's exile, were seized with fear—especially after the first tier of the party, represented by Zardari and Gilani, followed the American path. When we add to this General Kayani, the Army Chief whom America had previously installed, it becomes clear that America has taken hold of the reins of power in Pakistan.
Thus, nothing remained for Britain except the opposition, exploiting American provocations of the Pakistani people through continuous drone strikes on Pakistani territory and the killing of women and children, as well as the worsening economic crisis. Britain exploited these events, moved leaders in the opposition, and heated the atmosphere. Initially, America did not see these events as a problem; in fact, its men participated in the opposition because it saw an interest in keeping the people occupied internally to carry out its criminal operations in the tribal areas without a fuss.
However, matters escalated recently, and British agents nearly took over the scene in the name of the opposition to topple the government or, at the very least, "disturb its peace."
Consequently, America saw that Britain was close to succeeding in mobilizing the opposition to reach power, or at least to impose its conditions on the government. Thus, America decided to take hold of the opposition just as it had taken hold of the government.
From here came the forceful move of Nawaz Sharif against the government, so that he would emerge as the leader of the opposition. Thus, the opposition would be in its hands just as the government is in its hands, cutting the path for any opposition orchestrated by Britain.
America controls the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s office, and the Chief of Army Staff. It also wants to control the opposition. For this reason, it has made its agent Nawaz Sharif—whom it removed from the premiership in 1999 and then returned to Pakistan from exile a second time in 2007—the leader of the Pakistani opposition, so that everything in Pakistan is in its hands. This enables America, according to its plan, to prevent any sincere and faithful change because it holds both the government and the opposition. At the same time, it obstructs Britain's efforts to return to an influential role in Pakistan, especially since America has been unable to eliminate British influence entirely, as British agents still permeate some corners of the regime and the People’s Party.
Thus, the highlighting of Nawaz Sharif as the leader of the opposition took place as follows:
a. On February 26, 2009, the Pakistani Supreme Court issued a decision banning Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz from holding any elected government office. Following this, demonstrations organized by Nawaz Sharif's party broke out against the court's decision. A day before this, on February 25, 2009, demonstrations and marches had erupted in dozens of Pakistani cities protesting the economic situation alongside protests against American attacks on the country. The federal government had dismissed Shahbaz Sharif from the premiership of the Punjab government after suspending the local parliament and placing the Punjab province under its direct authority.
b. It is understood from Nawaz Sharif’s movement that America wants to absorb the opposition against its ruling agents in Pakistan and place the leadership of the opposition in its own hands. In doing so, it misleads the people and keeps them away from working in the correct direction toward changing the system in Pakistan. It strikes those resisting it in the tribal areas while keeping the people occupied with protests over a side issue—the reinstatement of the judges—distracting them from the real goal. It made it seem as if the issue of Pakistan is the reinstatement of judges, and that if they are returned to their positions, justice will be achieved and all the country's problems will be solved. This is despite the fact that the root of the discontent and protests is the regime's submission to the Americans, who fight those resisting American policy and those demanding a return to the rule of Islam. They fight them using their brothers in the Pakistani army, which fights alongside America, as well as the injustice resulting from the application of a non-Islamic system.
c. Thus, Nawaz Sharif challenged the government's decisions and defied them without fear, based on the fact that America had not given the government the green light to arrest him. If the government had been authorized to arrest him, it would have done so, as what he did provided sufficient justification for arrest. The Pakistani Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, stated in a press conference, accusing Nawaz Sharif of inciting people to civil disobedience: "Inciting people to disobedience is sedition, and the punishment for that is life imprisonment." He added: "The government does not intend to arrest him, but it has sufficient justification for his arrest, especially in the event of violence during the marches..." (BBC, March 10, 2009).
d. Since the events exploded, America has been closely following what is happening, even drawing its lines. The US State Department confirmed on March 13, 2009, that American officials were in contact with Pakistani leaders to find a way out of the political tension (Al Jazeera, March 14, 2009). This indicates that America was monitoring the crisis and overseeing it directly.
It was mentioned on the America.gov website, quoting a spokesperson for the US State Department: "The decision to reinstate the Chief Justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court, announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani on March 16, 2009, came after telephone calls made by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton with Pakistani leaders during the weekend of March 14-15."
Acting State Department Spokesman Robert Wood confirmed in a press conference held on March 16 that "the Secretary wanted to make sure that the Pakistani officials understood our view of the current situation and the importance of not having any violence, and the need for political dialogue."
e. In this way, America has succeeded in seizing control of the opposition, at least in the foreseeable future. We say "foreseeable future" because Britain has its men, as we said, in some corners of the People’s Party, as well as in other political opposition circles, and even some infiltrations within the government institutions themselves, even if not to an influential degree.
Accordingly, Nawaz Sharif's movement does not deviate from America's plans to create a loyal opposition. For this reason, the focus was placed on Nawaz Sharif rather than the rest of the opposition to highlight him as its leader.
f. America has succeeded in its calculations against Britain, seizing both the government and the opposition. However, the error in America's calculations lies in the fact that it forgot or pretended to forget that the Ummah in Pakistan is in one valley, while the symbols of the government and the opposition are in another. What America succeeded in was seizing those symbols, but they are below zero in the calculations of the Ummah. When the Ummah roars, nothing will stand in its face—neither those symbols nor their masters, whether those masters are America or Britain.
وَاللَّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
"And Allah is predominant over His affair, but most of the people do not know." (Quran Yusuf [12]: 21)