What will be PM Imran’s next move?

Prime Minister Imran Khan is widely known for two things: he is unpredictable and he knows how to get attention. For instance, right when the opposition parties were celebrating the victory of democracy and Constitution after the country’s top court decision, he was mulling over resigning en masse from the National Assembly; a move discussed in detail but countered with the suggestion of doing what he did best: sit on the opposition benches instead of giving a walkover to the other side.

Despite the judicial setback on Thursday night, many believe that the prime minister can still mount a political comeback through public support provided how he deals with the Supreme Court’s decision nullifying his unconstitutional moves. The confirmation that he will continue to fight till the last ball came from his Twitter account soon after the court decision. The question, however, was if he still is the phenomenon that once was before the top court decision and if the nation would witness more criticism on the establishment for staying “neutral” amid political turmoil in the coming days.

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Another question looming large on the political horizon after the court decision of declaring National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s ruling of rejecting no-confidence motion against the premier “unconstitutional” was about the political future of Imran and his party, especially, after his narrative of foreign intervention in the country’s internal matters was not entertained by the highest court of the country.

“Politically, it’s a devastating blow to IK [Imran Khan] and the PTI as their unconstitutional actions have been nullified,” PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed shared with The Express Tribune. “While IK often acts as a gambler without stakes, he is well aware of the ground realities: he has lost the political battle.”

Sayed, who heads Senate’s Defence Committee, said: “His [PM Imran’s] political future depends on how he responds to this setback: accept defeat, gracefully, after the Supreme Court has spoken, or continue to act as a spoiler.”

The veteran politician said if PM Imran accepts the former option, he can “live to fight another day” in the coming political round – the general elections. “Acting as a spoiler, after he’s lost the political battle, the numbers game in parliament, and the legal battle in the Supreme Court, would be a recipe for disaster for him and his party,” Sayed said.

Read Shehbaz terms Imran's play 'unconstitutional power-grab'

On the SC decision, Sayed said upholding the Constitution and the rule of law was a landmark decision while recalling that “undoubtedly the most important judicial decision in Pakistan’s history since the historic 1993 decision of the Supreme Court to restore Mian sahib [Nawaz Sharif] after his wrongful dismissal by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan”.

“I think the PTI and Imran Khan retain a critical mass of public support so they will be a potent force in Pakistani politics at least in the short term,” Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said, adding that the long-term future will depend upon their showing in the coming general election.

“It remains to be seen how Imran Khan & his party deals with this judicial setback and possible setbacks in the National Assembly on Saturday and in the Punjab Assembly in the next few days,” the PILDAT president said, adding that a battle of public narratives had already started and it would now gain momentum.

“Imran Khan has generally been an effective political communicator & connects to the masses; it will be seen whether this magic works in the days to come,” Mehboob shared. Another key question is about his relations and narrative about the establishment, he said, adding that there were signs of “criticism emanating from PM Imran’s supporters against the establishment”.

Days after PM Imran pulled out his big surprise by advising President Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly, which he did but only to be restored in less than a week’s time, his party leaders revealed that he was planning something unpredictable again and expected to announce it on April 8 (today). When asked to comment on PM and his party’s political future, PTI Senator Faisal Javed said that the premier would announce that today as “he has called a meeting of the federal cabinet and is scheduled to address the nation on the post-judicial ruling”.

In a single stroke, the political observers believe that the top court has buried the “doctrine of necessity” and blocked the way for those thinking to abrogate the Constitution with gleeful chuckles in the future. They feel that the decision would haunt PM Imran for a long time just like an old sin casts a long shadow.