Pakistan's all-powerful military to determine Imran Khan's fate

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 16 (ANI): Pakistan has been in turmoil politically and economically amid rallies and movements to ouster Imran Khan and rising inflation and growing debts, however, his fate will be decided by the all-powerful military.
Called by different names -- like "powers that be' "the establishment", 'Rawalpindi', where the Army's General Headquarters (GHQs) is located, or 'Miltablishment', the military-civil combine that rules the country - it is supposed to have placed Khan, its current 'proxy', in power, reported Islam Khabar.
The overall picture Pakistan presents is that the military is wary of taking direct power as it has done thrice before since the current situation is dire, both politically and economically, needs to civilian facade.
Khan has repeatedly said that his government is "on the same page" with the military. But past experience is that of the army taking the final call, even if it has to engineer the elections to ensure another 'proxy' to rule the country.
However, Imran Khan is facing stiff political opposition through "Long March", abandoning the streets and adopting the parliamentary path, through a "no-confidence" motion in the National Assembly.
Several meetings in the last few weeks between top leaders of the two mainstream parties, Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and those conducted with smaller parties by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) and convener of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), have fuelled perceptions that the Khan Government's parliamentary majority will be challenged on the floor of the National Assembly.
Media reports indicate that Imran Khan Government has in the recent past managed even two-thirds majority support, in the opposition-controlled Senate, the upper house, to pass legislation required to meet stipulations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for getting a loan and those required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that is probing Pakistan's money laundering and funding of terror outfits.
These were achieved by unorthodox means, allegedly, through bribery and ensuring members' absence from the House before the crucial vote. The government ensured the absence of even the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, reported Islam Khabar.
These are the hard facts. Above them all, any analysis of Pakistan's turbulent political arena would be easy if the first and the last step are kept in mind. Actually, the two are the same: the outcome of the challenge that is building up, yet again, against the incumbent will be decided by the all-powerful military, reported Islam Khabar. (ANI)