ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan’s defeat has been complete with the setback from the Supreme Court, last day. The Supreme Court had ruled that the actions of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri and President Arif Alvi, who rejected the no-confidence motion, were prima facie unconstitutional. The opposition’s unity and the army in his own camp had gifted Imran with the current crisis. However, there is one leader in Pakistan, who had been tirelessly working towards this goal. He is none but Fazlur Rehman Khan, a leader whom Imran calls ‘Diesel’.

Fazlur Rehman Khan

Fazlur Rehman Khan, the leader of Pakistan Democratic Movement, can undoubtedly be referred to as the bowler who took Imran’s wicket. He is a leader who had contested in three seats in the 2018 Pakistan General Elections, but was unable to win even one of them. Nevertheless, he was always there to charge his army against Imran Khan outside the parliament. He is also the head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition of opposition parties, which was formed to stand against Imran Khan and seeks to reduce the interference of the military establishment in civilian government.

The strength of the alliance lies in the fact that it was able to bring together two prominent opposition parties in the country, namely Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Fazlur Rehman had said that the deputy speaker's decision to reject the no-confidence motion against Imran was part of a conspiracy to impose dictatorship and should be withdrawn immediately. Similar words were used by the Supreme Court to slam Imran as well. The verdict came ahead of the opposition’s call for observing ‘Protection Day of Constitution of Pakistan’ across the country on Friday.

Against Imran from the beginning

Even after losing the 2018 polls, Fazlur Khan had continued his attacks against Imran Khan. By the end of 2019, his organization Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) besieged Islamabad demanding Imran’s resignation. Following which, other opposition parties such as PML-N and PDP extended their supported to the protest. Meantime, the ‘remove Imran’ campaign launched by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose organization heads the largest network of madrasa schools in Pakistan, had also gained media attention.

Fazlur’s ability to pull out the mistakes of Imran Khan, who came to power with the slogan ‘Naya Pakistan’, and how he united the scattered opposition is what makes him popular among his followers.

Diesel

Imran Khan often refers Fazlur as ‘Diesel’. He calls him by this name as Fazlur was in charge of the ministry of petroleum during the Benazir Bhutto government in 1996. However, Pakistani military Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa himself has asked Imran not to call Fazlur Rehman by the name as he was someone with deep religious roots. It was Imran himself who had revealed about this to the world.