Pakistan is imploding. A failing neighbour will be a nightmare for India and the world

Pakistan Army is a professional force and will bring about order. The question is whether it will do so by a coup or by ordering elections with or without Imran.
With the arrest of the former Prime Minister and leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan is in turmoil. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, supporters of a political party targeted the army and attempted to storm the Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi. In Lahore, the residence of the Corps Commander was vandalised. As per Twitter, even war memorials have been damaged. Fears have been expressed about Pakistan’s descent into “chaos and anarchy”. Imran Khan himself and his supporters have blamed the army and not the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government. All eyes are on the Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir to bring about some sort of stability. There has been smug satisfaction in India that Pakistan’s capacity to challenge India’s security, particularly by exporting/supporting terrorism, has been severely affected by its existential economic crisis, internal political turmoil, now further compounded by the arrest of Imran Khan, and serious internal security threats from homegrown terrorism. And that sporadic terrorist attacks in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) were more for retaining relevance and keeping the J&K issue alive rather than a real threat that can cause serious strategic damage. (Contd. on page 24)