How ‘coup’ to oust Pakistan’s Sharif came to nothing



ISLAMABAD // It had all the elements of a classic coup – thousands descending on the capital, clashing with police outside parliament and commandeering state TV to demand the ousting of a civilian leader who had locked horns with the military.

But when the tear gas cleared in Islamabad in August, Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif remained in office with the support of the entire parliament. The troops were still in their barracks, and the protesters had dwindled to a few thousand – their “revolution” confined to a festive, shrinking tent camp.

The uprising led by former cricket star Imran Khan and cleric Tahir ul Qadri failed to overthrow Mr Sharif, but it did rattle the conventional view of Pakistan as a tottering state perpetually leaning on an all-powerful army.

“Parliament’s unanimous support for Nawaz Sharif played a key role in saving democracy in Pakistan,” political analyst Mahdi Hasan said.

Mr Khan and Mr Qadri had accused Mr Sharif of massive fraud in the 2013 election that brought him to office in Pakistan’s first-ever democratic transfer of power. International monitors reported irregularities in the vote, but have not questioned the outcome.

Beyond the voting allegations, Mr Khan and Mr Sharif are longtime political opponents, while Mr Qadri holds Mr Sharif personally responsible for the deaths of 14 of his supporters in clashes with police in Lahore in June.

At the peak of the protests in August some 70,000 people thronged the heart of the capital.

On August 30, the demonstrators burst through security barricades and clashed with police outside parliament. The police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Three people were killed in the melee and another 500 – including police – were wounded.

The military, which had troops deployed to back the police, might have chosen that moment to side with the protesters and push for the ousting of Mr Sharif.

After all, the army overthrew Mr Sharif in 1999, ending his previous stint as prime minister.

More recently, the army had clashed with him over his decision to bring a treason case against Pervez Musharraf, the general who had ousted him, and his support for a private TV channel that accused the country’s spy chief of trying to kill its top anchor.

But instead of sweeping Mr Sharif from power, Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen Raheel Sharif met with the protest leaders to try to convince them to resolve the impasse.

Critics of the protesters say the military should have intervened to disperse them.

Defence analyst Talat Masood said the army’s “reluctance to forcefully resolve the crisis encouraged the demonstrators”.

The army says it deployed troops to protect government buildings but that it was up to the 30,000 police and paramilitary groups – who take orders from government – to handle crowd control.

In the end, most of the protesters left on their own.

Mr Qadri officially ended his sit-in in Islamabad this week. While Mr Khan’s supporters remain, it is unclear whether the crowds of mainly college students that swell in the evenings are drawn there for political reasons or to hang out and hear popular singers who regularly perform at the rallies.

Mr Sharif’s government has said it is ready to let Mr Khan use an open-air theatre to “entertain their supporters”.

Most of Mr Khan’s supporters in parliament, where his Tehreek-e-Insaf party had been the third largest bloc, have resigned from the assembly.

And Javed Hashmi, who was president of Mr Khan’s party, broke with him over the decision to march on the prime minister’s house on August 30. Like other critics, he raised the specter of military involvement in the protests, alleging Mr Khan had endangered democracy.

Both Mr Khan and Mr Qadri have denied conspiring with the military.

Still, the protests have not been a complete failure. In August, Mr Sharif announced the formation of a judicial commission to probe the vote rigging allegations.

Mr Khan and Mr Qadri have rejected the commission, but Ishaq Dar, the chief government negotiator in talks with the protesters, says Mr Sharif will step down if the commission finds that the election was fraudulent.

“We will have no moral authority to remain in power if the commission finds us guilty of rigging the elections,” Mr Dar said.

* Associated Press

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'

Rating: 3/5

Directed by: David Yates

Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law

Du Football Champions

The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.

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World Series

Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
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* if needed

Game 4: Sunday
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