The supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf began to consider themselves revolutionaries as they began protests, long marches and sit-ins against the government since April 2022.
The supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf forgot that they had taken control of the Pakistani Government in 2018 with the overt and covert support of Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies; against whom they plan to stand today.
The supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf also forgot that several political parties had learnt through similar adventures that the political space is multi-stakeholder in Pakistan.
PTI: Crisis of Lab Grown Revolutionaries Exists Wide Open Today. However, it cannot be said that the party does not enjoy support amongst the masses. By all means, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is the largest crowd puller and enjoys a significant support amongst the Pakistani voters. Yet, the party is unable to put itself as a serious political contender in the relevant quarters of the Pakistani Establishment. And the reasons lie within the party’s own rank and file.
Formation of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
Founded on April 25, 1996, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has existed as a political player for three decades now. Yet, PTI could not get much support until early 2010. Although, its leader, Imran Khan, was famous around the country for his winning streak in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Apparently, the political following of Mr. Khan wasn’t as big as his personality was. Mr. Khan was looking to capture the political space through people to which he was unsuccessful. Later, Mr. Khan had put his weight in the favor of General Pervez Musharraf in 2002 referendum. At that moment, he was supporting a military led rule in Pakistan. Although, Mr. Khan accepted it to be a wrong decision later. However, it depicts how democratic Mr. Khan was from the very beginning.
As General Musharraf’s rule ended and the political space returned to major political groups in Pakistan. The establishment was looking for a horse to bet on. They were looking for a fresh face to use against the established political giants in the country. They were again dreaming of a political revolution in the country. Yet, the establishment and the lab grown revolutionaries were unable to understand the difference between actual political struggles.
Pakistan’s Establishment and the Political Class
Historically, the Pakistani people have also been looking for immediate but short lived solutions to resolve the country’s challenges. Historically, the establishment was also able to maneuver the political space within the first two years of an elections in the country.
The political class, however, knew that a long-term policy which is consistent and has a buy-in from several political groups across the country is the solution. Moreover, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz along with other major stakeholders had learnt the lessons from the decade of 1990s. They were no more directly influenced by the establishment after a political removal of General Musharraf from the Presidency as well as a relatively freer judiciary in Pakistan. Mr. Imran Khan was, thus, an appropriate choice to confront the political forces at this moment.
For this, a new image was invented for Mr. Imran Khan. Mr. Khan was portrayed as a savior and messiah people were waiting for and who can resolve all the issues Pakistan faced. The covert support of some retired and serving army officials resulted in a PTI’s massive rally on October 30, 2011. Mr. Khan chanted slogans of change at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. However, the allegations of support from the army and the intelligence services were immediate to follow with the name of General Shuja Pasha in the light.
Resultantly, Mr. Imran Khan was able to gain significant popularity as a political icon. Yet, it was visible to all that Mr. Khan enjoys strong backing from the military leadership, at least of the secondary ranks, at that time.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government in 2013
The elections in the year 2013 brought a strong majority to the PTI in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He formed the government in the province. Yet, Mr. Khan continued to bring upheaval in the political space in the country. He remained adamant that he had won more seats in the general elections and announced a mass movement against then PML-N government in 2014.
So was Mr. Khan’s acceptance to the establishment of that time that the federal government could not dare to stand against him. Mr. Khan marched on Islamabad claiming it to be Azadi March or Tsunami against then government on August 14, 2014. Mr. Khan himself led the tsunami along with Pakistan Awami Tehreek and held a sit-in in Islamabad for several months. The sit-in was called off after an unfortunate attack on Army Public School on December 16, 2014. The 126 days sit-in was supported by continuous media placement of PTI and its leadership as the saviors of the country. The electronic media would continue live coverage of sit-in for several months. The ISPR trained social media enthusiasts would put forward any unrealistic and fake information to strengthen the narrative. The regular print media would cover a story or two on the covert support from military and it would be removed.
Imran Khan Vs. Other Leaders
While all other political actors in Pakistan were portrayed as dacoits or traitors. Mr. Khan was brought up as a tall figure in Pakistani politics. His followers would often portray him as a successor of Pakistan’s Founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was shown to be the only leader interested in wellbeing of the country. Most importantly, several facts were turned into unrealistic goals for the country. For instance, Mr. Khan would often claim to move Pakistan away from IMF. Moreover, his followers would claim that US$100 billion would immediately arrive from abroad once Mr. Khan is elected. Similarly, there would be claims of following Western Standards of Governance. A number of Pakistanis believed that their Prime Minister may roam around them in similar cars, avoid VIP culture and follow simplistic trends. Once in government in 2018, this all became untrue.
In all of this, one thing happened. The followers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf began to consider themselves as revolutionaries who are changing the course of political history in Pakistan. They were unaware that several political elements have gone through the same route. Most importantly, these revolutionaries had never faced any actual political opposition. They were frequently known as keyboard warriors for their social media campaigns, often consisting of fake or false news. They were never asked to substantiate or validate the information they were sharing. Resultantly, the propaganda would follow for days, weeks and months and it would become irrelevant. Yet, the damage would have been done and Mr. Khan’s followers would keep insisting on the false information.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Close Relationship with the Establishment
Getting back to the point, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had only seen a supportive environment from the military and the intelligence agencies until April 2022. They were brought in the seat of the government literally without any strong political fight. Then Prime Minister, Mr. Nawaz Sharif was ousted from office through a judicial mechanism. The leaders of other political parties were also facing years’ old cases of corruption and nepotism. Moreover, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf would often claim its closest relationship with General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Pakistan Army as one of its major achievements. In fact, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had all the backing of highest elements in the military and judiciary for several years.
Failure Bound Strategies of PTI Leadership
Since 2022, every strategy from the PTI leadership has failed miserably. One of the main reasons again stand to be the keyboard warriors who multiply their existence on social media with several fake accounts. While it shows a huge following on the internet. The street power stands limited to the use of government resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Mr. Khan called his men to stand in line to stop his arrest. Resultantly, the party’s followers and leadership got embroiled in May 9 attacks on the State.
Later on, the party has planned several onslaughts on Islamabad. Yet, it has failed every time. While Mr. Khan continues to threaten marches, sit-ins and protests; it is unlikely to be fruitful. The recent failure of Islamabad Protests is a clear message.
The problem is that the PTI wants to come into power with the support of the same establishment. It also shows that their actual motive isn’t political engagement with other political elements in the country. Rather, it is only focusing on pressurizing the Establishment to get back PTI’s government. PTI is unable to comprehend that they cannot seek power from the establishment without actual political engagement, for which, it seems not prepared at all. Most importantly, the multiple political actors also seem disinterested in political engagement with the party due to its longstanding falsified narratives over the years.
Crisis of Lab Grown Revolutionaries
Well, things changed completely in 2022 and PTI stands in complete denial. As the support from Pakistan’s military diminished, its government fell. At this point again, the party utilized its old mechanism. It used a false narrative of external involvement from the US Government. Mr. Khan was playing politics. At this point, he was also beginning to pressurize the powerful Chief of the Army Staff to continue supporting his government.
But the winds had changed. The military leadership was quiet disinterested in political maneuvering, especially for Mr. Khan. Resultantly, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf began to call the same General Bajwa; a traitor. Without actual experience of political gimmicks and standing in front of the powerful establishment, Mr. Khan chose to put his followers to the test.
The narrative of US involvement in Mr. Khan’s removal was selling well. Therefore, Mr. Khan remained adamant on his stand against the Pakistani establishment. Yet, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was unable to realize that the political battlefield in Pakistan is full of thorns. There are unimaginable challenges to fight the political struggle in this country. As they are forced to stand in the actual political ground. The followers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf often fail to stand the ground.
Interestingly, it is trying to fight the same establishment with whose support it took over the reigns of the government in 2018.
