How Pakistan's political standoff will affect U.S. interests in the region

How Pakistan's political standoff will affect U.S. interests in the region

Transcript¹

Pakistan has been plunged² into political crisis after Prime Minister Imran Khan dissolved parliament ahead of a vote on a no-confidence motion in which he was widely expected to lose.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

There's a big political standoff in Pakistan. The country's prime minister dissolved Parliament and called for a new election just as a vote of no confidence was set to take place. So how does this affect U.S. interests in the region? NPR's Diaa Hadid joins us from Islamabad. Diaa, so the way it goes, it's like Parliament, you don't like what they have to say about you, then you fire them. I mean, is that basically what happened?

DIAA HADID, BYLINE³: Well, that's what critics are complaining about, and right now the Supreme⁴ Court is hearing arguments about this. Basically, they're trying to decide on the legality of this move that happened on Saturday, when the president dissolved Parliament just as a vote was about to take place that likely would have thrown the prime minister, Imran Khan, out of power. And the Supreme Court will try to decide this fairly quickly because right now Pakistan is in a political limbo⁵, and the risk is this could spill out on the streets if it's not resolved in the courts, although it's not even clear if politicians will accept a decision that's not in their favor. So now already in Pakistan, in Islamabad, security forces are on high alert. They've rolled out the shipping⁶ containers. It's always a sign of potential trouble because they're used to block protesters from marching on Parliament and the courts.

MARTINEZ: Now, before we get into why this is important, can you explain a bit of the background of this vote?

HADID: Right. So the prime minister, Imran Khan, who was elected four years ago, he's got a fairly big and loyal support base, but his rule has always been tainted⁷ by these allegations that the military helped propel him to power. That's Pakistan's most powerful institution, and it does deny involvement. But over the years, Khan was seen as mismanaging the economy and foreign policy. He quite famously celebrated⁸ the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. He visited President Vladimir Putin as Russian tanks were rolling into Ukraine. And analysts⁹ say the military began stepping away from supporting him, and that signaled to the opposition¹⁰ that they could try and wrest¹¹ power. So they went ahead, and they filed this no-confidence motion.

And at that time, Khan and his allies began claiming there was this American conspiracy¹² to remove him from power. Now, Washington denies this, and Khan insists in local media outlets¹³ that this was made clear at a March 7 between the Pakistani ambassador and a senior State Department official. So it's in that context that Imran Khan asked for Parliament to be dissolved yesterday, and he and his allies argue that the effort to oust¹⁴ him is illegitimate because it's part of a foreign conspiracy.

MARTINEZ: So just to recap, he celebrated the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. He visited with Putin. And then he claims an American conspiracy. So it sounds like this is going to impact their relationship with the United States.

HADID: Right. And these relationships - and the relationship with the United States isn't very good anyway. And there is concern among Pakistani officials about how bad it could get. Already, the Pakistani chief of army staff has said in a recent speech that he wants Pakistan to have good relations with the United States. That was a nudge, a sort of criticism of what Khan is doing. But Khan and his allies are digging in on this American conspiracy theory. And in a country where this American - anti-American sentiment is pervasive¹⁵, especially among the religious right wing, this could escalate¹⁶ pretty quickly.

MARTINEZ: And what about for Pakistan itself? What's the risk of this crisis lingering?

HADID: Right. The risk is that already food and inflation - food prices and inflation is high because of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If this crisis lingers and people get hungrier, political instability is even more likely.

MARTINEZ: NPR's Diaa Hadid. Thanks a lot.

HADID: Thank you, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

15 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

16 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。