How Pakistan media bashing Imran Khan and his regime

As all eyes are on the recent political turmoil in Pakistan, the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan and his regime have been facing harsh criticism by local media outlets over the past few days.

Multiple media outlets came out bashing Imran Khan's move to manufacture the dismissal of the no-confidence motion against him, dissolving the Parliament and in turn calling for snap elections.

Pakistan-based English newspaper Dawn, in an editorial published on Monday, blamed Imran for throwing the country "into the dark abyss of a constitutional crisis."

The DAWN editorial titled "Democracy subverted" denounced Khan's move as a despotic tactic and said, "No one could have guessed that his last ploy would involve having the democratic order burnt down by a democratically empowered party."

"Whatever happened in the National Assembly on Sunday violated all rules governing proceedings in the House, particularly those dealing with the motion of no-confidence," the media opined.

It went on to further criticise Khan saying, "It takes quite the fall for a self-proclaimed 'fighter' to display such unsportsmanlike behaviour. By tearing up the rules of the game instead of 'playing till the last ball', He has dealt a fatal blow to constitutionalism and given rise to the strongest concerns yet that he may not be suited to hold public office within a democratic order."

Another Pakistani English language newspaper - The News International - called what happened on D-Day was "unfortunate" and wrote that the PTI chose to use Article 5 to demonise an entire political class.

"Whether that is worth whatever value these bizarre turns of events have for the PTI is for the party to decide but the country today stands even more polarized not to mention the dangerous precedent set by Imran Khan: if this is acceptable then what stops any future prime minister from dissolving assemblies any time s/he faces a no-confidence motion?"

The editorial also raised some burning questions like: Did Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi abrogate the constitution? Does Article 58 give the president the right to dissolve the National Assembly on the advice of the PM who is facing [an undecided] vote of no-confidence? Is the act of invoking Article 5 and questioning the loyalty of the entire opposition excuse enough to dismiss the vote of no-confidence? Has the deputy speaker subverted the constitution by acting beyond the powers vested in him?

Expressing little hope for the upcoming election, the media organisation speculated that it will be less about the people and more about conspiracies.

"With the PTI deciding that democratic principles are subservient to immediate power, and with the PTI and the opposition happily slinging threats of Article 6 back and forth, it seems election season – which may have already started – will be less about the people or democratic principles and more about conspiracies and certificates of patriotism."

Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, a Pakistani politician and Member of Parliament, in his opinion piece published in The News opined that the present rulers are no longer following the democratic ways.

"I advised the prime minister to resign from the post in a dignified manner keeping the political turmoil in view," he wrote adding "In my view, people are expecting Imran Khan to build a new Pakistan where there is politics of principles, morality and good values. I always requested him to not compromise on the politics of principles otherwise the situation would become worse. I reminded him of the wise sayings of Chanakya that the secret to the success of a great ruler is his capable advisers, and one should think ten times before making any decision and once he/she has made the right decision, there should be no U-turns."

He further added, "Our national situation today has reached such a critical point that in my view, it is not a matter of just one person to rectify it, but all the experienced political leaders who believe in democratic values need to play their due role."