New book reveals 'coup' conspiracy at the height of Imran Khan's 2014 dharna to oust Nawaz

Even as Imran Khan faces allegations of being a “selected” Prime Minister, the revelations in author Shuja Nawaz’s new book ‘The Battle For Pakistan, The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighborhood’ can potentially embarrass him further. It has been claimed that a coup was on the cards at the time of the sit-in or 'dharna' staged by Khan’s party. The book quotes former US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson who mentioned that Raheel Sharif (former Pakistani Army Chief) thwarted the DG ISI Zahirul Islam's plan to oust Nawaz Sharif from the Prime Minister’s post.  

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In Shuja Nawaz’s book, Richard Olson has been quoted as saying, “We received information that Zahirul Islam, the DG ISI, was mobilising for a coup in September of 2014. (Army Chief) Raheel (Sharif) blocked it by, in effect, removing Zahir, by announcing his successor…(Zahir) was talking to the corps commanders and was talking to like-minded army officers…He was prepared to do it and had the chief been willing, even tacitly, it would have happened. But the chief was not willing, so it didn’t happen.” 

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What was the 2014 dharna? 

The 2013 General Elections in Pakistan witnessed Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party secure a comfortable majority. Sharif took oath as the PM 14 years after his government was overthrown by General Pervez Musharraf. However, Sharif giving the go-ahead to try Musharraf on treason charges and Khan’s allegations of the elections being rigged created difficulties for his regime. 

From August 14, 2014, Khan commenced a 4-months long dharna in Islamabad to demand the ouster of Sharif and fresh elections. At that point in time, he often hinted at the intervention of the ‘third umpire’, widely perceived as a reference to the possibility of the military establishment staging a coup. But Khan’s efforts failed to bear fruit and the dharna finally ended after the terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar in December 2014.  

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Opposition's allegations against Imran Khan

Currently, the opposition in Pakistan has alleged that the 2018 General Election was allegedly rigged before and on the counting day at the behest of the military establishment. Polling agents of various parties were reportedly thrown out during the counting process, thus casting doubts on the legitimacy of the victory of Khan’s party. Furthermore, Khan's regime has witnessed the incarceration of key opposition leaders including Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Bilawal's father Asif Ali Zardari and so forth. 

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