A sex scandal a day is new Pakistan political crisis

Pakistan is in the middle of multiple crises, possibly the worst ever in its history.

• The economy is on the verge of bankruptcy and the country may default in servicing its loans. Pakistan's foreign reserves have depleted to nearly nothing and its central bank has left only deposits from China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• Businesses and industry are wrapping up operations for the lack of dollars to import critical raw material and equipment.
• An energy crisis has forced Pakistani cities into shutting shops in the evening.
• The security situation has gone from bad to worse as the Taliban are expanding their control of the Pashtun areas in the west. The Afghan Taliban, supposedly friends of Pakistan, are in no mood to acknowledge the Durand Line that is the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• The insurgency in Balochistan is intensifying, threatening the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project that was to be the economic lifeline of Pakistan. In Occupied Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, a new wave of protests against the Army has begun.
• The political situation is a mess that is getting worse by the day. The government of the day wants out but can't get out. This government does not want the blame for some harsh decisions that it must take if the economy has to be saved. Imran Khan wants to get back in the government but can't get in because the military-industrial deep state has kicked him out, possibly for ever.

But guess what the political situation has led to? A sex scandal a day, to keep any serious discussion away. Here's a top actress ruing the fact soon after her name popped up in a scandal.

The leaks of Imran Khan's phone sex chats were followed by his wife Bushra Maneka's phone recordings. While the first were utterly pornographic, the latter were controversial because these revealed Bushra Maneka's corrupt practices as the Prime Minister's wife. Bushra Maneka, a grandmother, has been Imran Khan's spiritual guru before becoming Khan's wife. The latest is that they have been living separately.

While not rejecting the videos as false, Imran Khan condemned the leaks saying they were in poor taste and could impact the impressionable children who have access to such audio. He has been warning of some videos that may be leaked to character assassinate him. He has said those yet-to-release videos are fabricated using deep-fake tech.

The leaks were supposed to force Imran Khan into dialing down his attacks on the Army, especially the just retired chief General Bajwa. Imran Khan has been naming him as the person who betrayed Pakistan by getting him removed from the Prime Minister's Office and installing a coalition of the opposition parties into power at the behest of the US.

LIGHTS OFF, CAMERA ON

When push came to shove, a number of videos started appearing on the horizon. None of them can be described in detail here.

This obscene video seems to be recorded not by agencies but a participant, using hidden cameras. The videos are at least 6-7 years old and nobody knows how they made it to the hands of the establishment. But it has gone beyond that and as is the nature of social media, we will find them there sooner than later.

The videos were purportedly recovered from the mobile phone of a close aide of Imran Khan. Imran Khan was informed of the same by the agencies who claimed to be on his side since the aide could blackmail the leader at some point. This was just before he became Prime Minister. The aide had reported a robbery and recorded the missing of his mobile phone(s). Imran Khan was then told the data from the phones were incriminating but in safe hands.

REVENGE PORN

In a tit-for-tat, an Imran Khan supporter and former major in the Army Adil Raja accused General Bajwa of exploiting at least four actors to film them in questionable states of undress with politicians. Major Adil Raja, who now lives in London, said Army generals used these actors/models for their needs and also camera-trapped politicians in objectionable positions at their safe houses. The Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's premier spy agency, has been accused of filming and blackmailing politicians on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Pervez Elahi's third wife was outed by the establishment in an open hint to him that if he did Imran Khan's bidding, there'll be more. Pervez Elahi is leading a coalition of which Imran Khan's party Tehreek-e-Insaaf is the biggest component. Imran Khan wanted to dissolve the assemblies his party controls so that fresh elections could be forced. Punjab was the biggest among them but Chaudhary Pervez Elahi thwarted that attempt fearing the establishment could expose the skeletons in his cupboard.

Pervez Elahi was recently in Europe with Saira Anwar, 20 years younger to his son, and who he has reportedly married. She is being investigated for deposits into and withdrawals disproportionate to her income from her bank accounts. Saira Anwar has been a Lahore socialite.

ENOUGH IS NOT ENOUGH

Pakistanis are aghast at so many of their celebrated women being dragged into an innuendo-laden gossip fest. Not many women commit to public life in a country under extreme religious influence. The purported Ayla Malik-Imran Khan audio named half a dozen politicians who are now being shamed on social media.

The so-called Bajwa revelations have drawn four famous Pakistani actresses into the game of political oneupmanship. There will be a retort from the establishment that could redefine revenge porn. A video of an extremely popular leader with a transgender model is already doing the rounds in a closed but influential circle.

Imran Khan's former wife Reham Khan has named the transgender Rimal Ali as one. A video of the same leader with a boy (possibly underage) is also in the offing.

THE BIG PICTURE

But what could prove to be the most dangerous of the leaks is a video where words considered blasphemous in Pakistan have been uttered by a leader who enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan and could set the country aflame. Good sense has prevailed till now since the 'blasphemous' video has not been released on social media.