Pakistani social media channels target Imran Khan and his govt

New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) The last few months have witnessed across the board attacks on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government by the country's media, especially the vloggers, as if heralding his downfall in the next few months, if not weeks.

An array of journalists who have traditionally been known to cover political news spiced with gossip and 'talk of the town' rhetoric have taken to the social media attacking Khan and his government any which way they can. From corruption in the administration, to the sharp drop in the value of the rupee, to the string of protests across the country on a range of issues, to the political squabbling between the various parties - have all been reported with adequate facts and somewhat reliable inputs.

The Prime Minister's China visit came in for severe criticism with media vloggers like Aniq Naji and others of the like terming the visit a "total flop". They questioned the timing of the visit, especiallywhen the government was under attack and the Army was facing one of the worst tragedies with significant casualties at the hands of Baloch rebels. These vloggers were also critical of Imran khan for shamelessly defending his stand on most issues and criticizing the opposition. Some reports indicated that besides the attacks faced by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan there was a growing threat to soft targets and security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and elsewhere, while the government remained unfettered by these indicators.

Over the last one month or so, most of these political vloggers have gone on a rampage against Khan in a carefully calibrated and synchronized manner, stating that his govt was facing an imminent collapse due to the heightened activities of Asif Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto, Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman who have been wooing government allies including MQM, PML (Q), PSP and GDA. Some of these reporters have been pushing the line that there is a possibility of Khan adopting a suicidal approach out of desperation in the coming days in the form of trying to replace the incumbent Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. The question remains as to what extent would this be acceptable to the establishment and whether such an attempt would indeed succeed.

The news about former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif talking to the media after chairing a meeting of central executive committee of PML (N)through video link was also extensively covered by these vloggers with the you tube channels being clustered with thisnews alongwith a range of related analysis. Statement by Nawaz Sharif to the effect that PML-N will step forward and fulfill its duty to rid the people of Pakistan of the "cruel and corrupt" Khan, received tremendous coverage all across the media domain. Some vloggers went on to build on the narrative that Khan had created a "tamasha" of Pakistan and irrespective of whether people across the country were receiving food and basic requirements, Pakistan had become the most corrupt country in the world.

A series of detailed analysis was carried out by most vloggers on the evolving situation in Pakistan which was reaching a critical phase. There was also extensive coverage of the statement by Shehbaz Sharif's son and opposition leader in Punjab Assembly when he had said (Lahore, February 10), while talking to the media, that all opposition parties were united on the one point agenda of removing Khan and that it is to be decided whether the no confidence vote would be introduced first in the National Assembly or in the Punjab Assembly.

Najam Sethi's comments on Zardari's meeting with Nawaz Sharif and Chaudhary brothers, especially when he mentions that this was an indication of the "end of the game" for Khan, received significant viewership and was re-emphasised by a host of vloggers. He went on to mention that Government allies including PML(Q), MQM and others had become very active and what was being seen and known in public domain in terms of their activism was only the tip of the iceberg.

Sethi mentioned that in the first phase, a no confidence vote will take place against Khan and it could succeed by around 15-20 votes. In such a scenario, he mentions that the Prime Minister is likely to be removed in two to three weeks. In the event of Khan surviving the no confidence, Sethi says that theopposition will go for a long march and this is when it will become clear as to whose side the establishment is on.

One of the news beat channels run by Imran Shafqat, who was detained by Pakistani authorities in August 2021 for reporting against the government, quoted a member of PML-N in the CEC as stating that the Pakistani establishment has been conveyed that Imran Khan has become a security risk because of mismanagement of the economy and that he needed to be removed. Shafqat also created the narrative that in the event of any further weakening of the state in terms of security and a virtual economic collapse, the nuclear assets held by the state could be in danger with the IAEA and other parties wanting to take control of these assets. He also went on to highlight the fact that the day was not far when China might take control of the Gwadar project fully considering the huge pending debt.

Another popular YouTube news anchor Zafar Naqvi, who has also traditionally held an anti-Imran stand, created waves when he mentioned, quoting Hamid Mir and "another source" from the establishment, that Zardari can be the new Prime Minister. He went on to mention that there has been an agreement between the establishment, Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rahman on this name. Zafar also criticised Khan for resorting to false accusations against his political rivals after being cornered. He was referring to allegations by Khan to the effect that Zardari had offered 10-20 crores to each MNAs. Khan apparently quoted journalist Haroonur Rashid as stating that Zardari had offered the post of Deputy PM to Moonis Elahi, son of Pervaiz Elahi, PML(Q) leader and Speaker of Punjab Assembly.

As far as support from the traditional foreign partner the US is concerned, vlogs by Rizwan Razi, another popular news editor and journalist, and Imran Shafqat recently quoted Absar Alam revealing that Nawaz Sharif had established contacts with President Joe Biden's administration and the White House through the good offices of former Pakistani Ambassador Hussain Haqqani for any future set up in Pakistan. These vloggers emphasized the fact that the US also remains disenchanted with the Imran Khan government on the Afghan issue and was looking at a change in the government.

China visit