THE registration of an FIR regarding the attempted assassination of former prime minister Imran Khan should not have been such a complicated matter. There should have been no need for the chief justice to intervene and issue an ultimatum to the IG Punjab. Yet, that is exactly where things stood till late Monday night, when, according to reports, the complaint was expected to be registered under pressure of the Supreme Court’s deadline.

Mr Khan’s insistence on the nomination of a senior intelligence official had become a major stumbling block. The PTI chief had complained that Punjab Police were refusing to register his complaint, even though the inspector general later told the chief justice on Monday that it was, in fact, the PTI’s allies in the provincial government that had been creating hurdles. Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi’s relationship with Mr Khan must have undergone some major turbulence as he tried to convince the latter to reconsider.

Nothing in the law prohibits armed forces officials from being nominated in an FIR, yet someone did not want to see it happen. The move was resisted even though an investigation may well have exonerated the officer completely and proven Mr Khan wrong.

Due to the inordinate delay, the deadlock raised questions regarding institutional exceptionalism: what entitled an armed forces officer to be treated differently when there were no objections to the names of the prime minister and interior minister in the same complaint?

Meanwhile, the delay also gave the PTI another opportunity to push the narrative that it was being victimised. It accused powerful quarters of using their influence to deny justice to a former prime minister.

Things now seem to be moving forward, but the path ahead is hardly clear. While Mr Khan and the prime minister finally agree on how the attack can be investigated, the former seems to be complicating matters by insisting that everyone he has accused resign. If Mr Khan agrees to a Supreme Court commission probing the issue, perhaps he should consider letting the commission make that decision.

It is easy to make accusations, and Mr Khan has provided little evidence to justify his demands. Instead, it appears he is capitalising on the opportunity to settle political scores with the people he sees blocking his return to power, while jeopardising the investigation by making it contingent on demands that seem very unlikely to be fulfilled.

The people of Pakistan are entitled to the facts of this case. The questions they have regarding the perpetrator(s) and motives behind the brazen attack cannot remain unresolved.

The incident has already shaken the relationship between the citizens and the state: its investigation should not be treated as a personal prerogative by the PTI chief. There should be no further delay in launching an investigation, conducting it thoroughly and delivering its results transparently to the people of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2022