Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Usman Dar, who had been “missing” for nearly a month, resurfaced last week for a TV interview in which he alleged that PTI chief Imran Khan had planned the May 9 riots that saw the ransacking of military and civil assets to “oust” incumbent Army chief Gen. Asim Munir. Unsurprisingly, this “confession” has attracted much criticism, with few willing to buy it at face value, especially considering the corruption allegations against Dar from the PTI’s tenure in power.
During his interview, Dar claimed he was parting ways with the PTI and politics in general. To questions, he alleged Khan had used his supporters as “human shields” to avoid jail, adding the PTI chief had given “clear instructions” for the PTI to target sensitive installations if he were placed under arrest. The “PTI chief pushed an anti-state narrative for political gains,” he continued, while dismissing questions on his “disappearance” by claiming it was “voluntary.” Immediately after the broadcast, the PTI issued a statement describing the interview as a “old wine in a new bottle,” with proclaimed offender PTI leader Hammad Azhar claiming it was a new “format” of “forced press conferences.”
But while the interview may have done little to sway public opinion, it highlights the final chapter that Imran Khan’s politics has entered following the May 9 riots. A major reason for Khan’s downfall was his split with the Army, which had propped him up as an “alternative” to Pakistan’s other political leaders, especially over the appointment of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief in October 2021. Then-ISI chief Lt. Gen. (retd.) Faiz Hameed was considered a Khan “loyalist,” while his replacement, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum is not. The fallout of the rift saw Khan losing the support of political allies installed by the establishment, eventually leading to his ouster through a vote of no-confidence. This was followed by street agitation, as cases against Khan continued to pile up, leading him to his present incarceration.
Khan’s downfall is not the first fall from grace of a Pakistani leader. But his rapid descent proves especially instructive for any Pakistani politicians willing to learn from it—as well for the Army and its penchant for “experiments” that an economically weak country can no longer afford.