Can we direct the storm northwards?

 "A high-profile kidnapping of a police chief in Pakistan -- allegedly by official paramilitary troops -- has signaled deepening of the political turmoil in a country bracing for further opposition protests aimed at ousting Prime Minister Imran Khan." The paramilitary troops, known as Rangers raided the house of the inspector general of police in Southern Sindh province to force him to sign an arrest order for an opposition leader Safdar Awan. The Pakistan army has been abducting and killing nationals of Balochistan who oppose its exploitation of Baloch land. Responding to the stink this time, "Pakistan's Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has ordered a inquiry into the kidnapping of the Sindh police chief by paramilitary Rangers Force to compel him to sign orders that had led to the brief arrest of Mohammad Safdar Awan, the son-in-law of exiled prime minister Nawaz Sharif." Because, "addressing a mammoth opposition rally in Gujranwalla on October 16", Nawaz Sharif, speaking by video link from London where he has been hiding, "named the army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed and held them responsible for all the ills of the country, for stealing the mandate of the people and foisting an utterly incompetent Imran Khan on the hapless people of Pakistan. He went on to threaten that they will have to answer for their actions." Naturally, Indians were delighted and speculated about impending civil war in Pakistan, much of which was fake. "Four big opposition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Pakistan People's Party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur), and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, and some smaller ones, including the Baloch National Party and the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, have come together to channelise public discontent at rising prices, power cuts, closure of businesses and other economic misery. Their alliance is called Pakistan Democratic Movement," explained Nirupama Subramanian. Gen Bajwa is indebted to Imran Khan for a three year extension in his post as army chief, which caused a lot of anger among other generals whose promotions were blocked, and so a fall of Imran will weaken Bajwa himself. "If mainstream parties continue to fade, Pakistani politics may well see a three-way tug-of-war between a middle-class populist, an aggressive military establishment and radical Islamists. That is in nobody's interest -- no even the Pakistan Army's," wrote Mihir Sharma. If Islamists take control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons, can India channel their anger towards China which is beating up Pakistan Army soldiers, and Chinese officials are brutally sterilising Muslim Uighur women to reduce their numbers? Get our enemies to fight against each other. Sun Tzu would approve.