Haqeeqi Azadi Movement

The Haqeeqi Azadi Movement (Urdu: حقیقی آزادی) is a political movement started by Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, after he was sacked from his office on 9 April 2022. The opposition joined hands to submit a no-confidence motion against the former prime minister in March 2022, and they were deemed successful by managing to secure 172 votes, enough to oust a sitting prime minister.[9]

Haqeeqi Azadi Movement
True freedom
Date9 April 2022 - Present
Location
Pakistan
Caused by
  • Removal of Imran Khan led government [1]
  • Horse trading [2]
  • Intervention of military in civilian's ambit [3]
  • Foreign influence in country's policies[3]
  • Lack of accountability[4]
  • Status quo [5]
Goals
  • Free and Fair elections [6]
  • Rule of law [7]
  • Civilian supremacy [8]

The motion from the surface looked like a normal democratic exercise, however it is widely believed[by whom?] that the military establishment, backed by the influence of the United States government, had a prominent role in the ousting of Imran Khan, evident by the report of The Intercept in August 2023 which published a leaked copy of the cable, which it claimed to have received from a disgruntled member of Pakistan's military.[10]

After the day of ousting, supporters of Imran Khan in large numbers took to the streets as a solidarity protest, which kickstarted the current movement, which have been convoluted as one of the longest political crises in the history of Pakistan.

Etymology

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The term "Haqeeqi-Azadi" was first coined in May 22, 2022, when Imran Khan declared that he will lead Azadi March towards Islamabad dubbed "freedom march" in English terminology. [11] As the tension grew between establishment and Imran Khan, the choice of words also started to feel more belligerent. It was not until the second Azadi March, the term "freedom march" or "Azadi March" turned into a "True Freedom" as evident by Imran Khan's statement on October 28, 2022.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Baloch, Shah Meer (11 April 2022). "Pakistan assembly elects Shehbaz Sharif as new prime minister". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Wasim, Amir (18 March 2022). "PTI dissidents surface in Sindh House 'sanctuary'". DAWN.COM.
  3. ^ a b Hussain, Ryan Grim, Murtaza (9 August 2023). "Secret Pakistan Cable Documents U.S. Pressure to Remove Imran Khan". The Intercept.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Pakistan Ranks 129 out of 140 in Rule of Law Index" (PDF). worldjusticeproject.org. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  5. ^ Hashim, Asad. "Elite privilege consumes $17.4bn of Pakistan's economy: UNDP". Al Jazeera.
  6. ^ "Imran Khan: Pakistan military is 'petrified' of elections". 3 August 2023 – via www.bbc.com.
  7. ^ "On GPS: 'There is no rule of law' in Pakistan | CNN". 21 May 2023 – via www.cnn.com.
  8. ^ Javed, Umair (27 June 2022). "Civilian supremacy?". DAWN.COM.
  9. ^ ANI (2 March 2022). "PDM chief Fazl claims support of 180 MNAs for no-trust vote against Imran Khan govt". ThePrint. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  10. ^ Hussain, Ryan Grim, Murtaza (18 December 2023). "Secret Pakistan Document Undermines Espionage Case Against Imran Khan". The Intercept.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "What is happening in Pakistan's continuing crisis?". Brookings. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  12. ^ "What pushed Imran Khan to 'real freedom'". The Times of India. 29 October 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 July 2024.