The superhit political recipe

There is no dearth of people in Pakistan who believe that one who can condemn US policies has strong leadership credentials. Imran Khan has thus picked the right theme for his anti-government tirade. An assault on US policies would earn anyone widespread following and spontaneous support.

Few among the audience of Khan would question the authenticity of the allegation he has levelled against the US. A routine cable sent from the Pakistani embassy in Washington registered a conversation between a Pakistani ambassador and the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. The conversation has been used Khan to claim that the US hatched a ‘conspiracy’ to have his government dismissed. This conspiracy narrative has gone down well with both the party’s leadership and its rank and file. Khan has successfully projected himself as the victim of a plot and has been able to galvanise mass support.

Why did Khan choose to navigate a path ridden with unsustainable and ridiculous assumptions?

Firstly, he had very little to show for his performance despite being in the office for nearly four years. All crucial issues like the economy, CPEC, climate change, urban slums and relations with regional countries were ignored. The overriding objective and the sole preoccupation was browbeating political rivals and ‘unearthing’ their ‘hidden’ treasures. This was the driving force and the ultimate ‘strategy’. In this naïve and absurd pursuit of an imaginary goal, he was assisted by a coterie of close advisers who otherwise were wholly incompetent for the jobs they were holding.

Secondly, Khan made a grave mistake by obstructing the no-trust vote against him despite knowing that he had lost the support of the majority in the National Assembly. Once the PM loses the majority support in a house, he has to go. Party members who have parted their way with him are never questioned. It is an internal matter, which the party must resolve. In any case, the PM has to depart. However, this was too much for Khan to accept. Through different excuses, he manoeuvred the delay in the vote to stop the inevitable from happening. In doing so he violated the Constitution. But he eventually had to leave. He could have avoided all this turmoil and left gracefully.

Now Khan has mobilised the masses in his support and is demanding an early election. He believes that he is at the crest of his popularity wave and an election would confirm his mass support. This may be true as most people have accepted that he was a victim of a conspiracy. Luckily for Khan, no one in the current coalition government can match his ability to arouse the passions of the people. However, in this highly charged environment, new dangers are looming for the survival of a hybrid democracy.

On 29^th April, PTI supporters resorted to hooliganism and attacked members of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s delegation at Masjid-e-Nabawi. According to some reports, it was a pre-planned mischievous attack. Shockingly, the former interior minister claimed that the incident reflected the sentiments of the people of Pakistan. In other words, he saw nothing wrong with the disgraceful conduct of the people in one of the holiest places of Islam.

Last but not least, the PTI Governor in Punjab has refused to administer the oath to the newly-elected Chief Minister, in continued violation of the Constitution. This is a sad spectacle, which may worsen.

What game is Khan playing?

His stance is clear; if not me, no one. This raises an important question: what would all this lead to? There is a high risk of the situation turning uglier. Those who have faith in democratic governance and the supremacy of the law are deeply worried. It is time for those within the PTI who believe in the supremacy of the Constitution to persuade their leader and prevent the situation from escalating to the extent where democracy is in peril. Saner elements must intervene to save the system, to save the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2022.

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