The Resurrection

On May 25, Pakistan’s ‘youthias’ wrote history for their party. They surprised not just the controversial Shahbaz Sharif government and its backers, but also many ordinary Pakistanis by the way they held their ground, braving teargas, baton charges, blockades, and the might of vindictive and partisan law-enforcement agencies.

Yes, in one sweep of events, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s ‘youthias’ – coined from the word youth, and used as a taunt by Khan’s detractors to describe Imran Khan’s many young and avid fans and supporters – seem to have come of age. In the past few days they have raised themselves perhaps even beyond the expectations of their leader, and transformed the image of the PTI. From a party thought to largely comprise political novices, it has visibly evolved into that of a resistance force that can withstand a harsh crackdown and launch a formidable mass protest. This is rare in Pakistan’s carefully choreographed politics.

After the ouster of the Imran Khan government through a highly contentious no-confidence motion, the PTI has successfully managed to scrap the allegations of being a ‘king’s party’ with a string of rallies and protests across the country. Its current show of street power has been even more impressive than its record 126-day sit-in of 2014, which PTI rivals contend enjoyed the direct blessings and support of the country’s mighty military establishment.

This time around, no such charge can be levelled against Imran Khan and his supporters. There is a clear distancing between the PTI and the military establishment. And now the former ruling party is taking on the deeply entrenched conventional political, religious and ethnic parties single-handedly and giving them a run for their money.

Like their leader, Imran Khan, PTI workers and supporters — even those who had become disillusioned with the party — are fiercely angry by what they see as the return of the most corrupt political dynasties and politicians to the highest echelons of power. In fact, the groundswell in Imran Khan’s support following his ouster has largely been seen as a reaction to the return of the dynastic rule of the Sharifs and Zardaris and their cohorts. Many apolitical Pakistanis opposed to the two main traditional political parties – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as well as other religious, sub-nationalist and ethnic groups – joined the ranks of the ‘youthias,’ believing Imran Khan was the only politician who stood against the rotten, anti-people system that had prevailed for so long. And whatever the reality and shortcomings of Imran Khan’s rule, the perception that he represents the face of change in Pakistan has once again stirred the imagination of the masses.

Old and new supporters of Imran Khan see him as the Mr. Clean of Pakistani politics and are furious at the way the system has condoned and rewarded the corrupt rather than holding them accountable. Their belief stems from the very same narrative which the country’s institutions preached and propagated year after year.

The term ‘Sicilian Mafia,’ used by the honourable Supreme Court for the Sharif family is still fresh in the minds of many Pakistanis. They have also not forgotten or forgiven the hateful propaganda and allegations levelled by Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and their close associates against the Pakistan Army and its top leadership. They have witnessed how the system was cheated when a convicted former premier was allowed to go abroad and then proceed to live in the same property – the notorious Avenfield Apartments – which the Sharif family has been accused of purchasing through money stolen from Pakistan and then laundered.

The trust of many Pakistanis in our system and institutions also stands shaken in the manner Shahbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Sharif, have been allowed to become Prime Minister and Chief Minister Punjab respectively via a dubious in-house change, and that too despite the fact that they also stand accused of having laundered more than 36 billion rupees.

In fact, in the new political scheme of things, the Prime Minister, the Punjab Chief minister, and more than 50 percent of the members of the federal cabinet and their close associates face corruption charges. This explains why Imran Khan is getting support from all parts of Pakistan, emerging as the country’s only federal level leader – a status once enjoyed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

What endears Imran Khan to his followers remains his uncompromising attitude and refusal to shake hands or strike deals with those politicians he declares corrupt, despite the fact that all the conventional analysts and power brokers have been advising him to reconsider his stance since he came to power in 2018. And it is precisely Khan’s inflexible stand against corruption that has forced him to pay a heavy political price – the premature end of his rule – as well as the parting of ways with some of his key party leaders, including Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan. His anti-corruption rhetoric has also brought all the rival traditional opposition parties together. And although the accountability process has to date failed to convict any of the country’s powerful politicians due to  poor investigation and prosecution and loopholes in our legal system, Imran Khan remains steadfast in his conviction. In the process he has earned the respect and loyalty of all those who abhor the tried and tested traditional politicians.

The PTI’s organisational class-character overwhelmingly resembles that of its rival mainstream political parties, but there are two major differences which make it stand apart from the PML-N and the PPP.

First and foremost of these is the Imran Khan-factor. Yes, Imran Khan is the decisive factor which makes the PTI different from other political parties. Despite the vicious propaganda campaign against him – which includes accusations of corruption by his rivals to bring him down to their level — Imran Khan’s image as Mr. Clean remains untarnished. Charges of corruption simply do not stick to him. He is also the only national leader who is seen as belonging to all Pakistan. He and his politics cannot be associated with any one province, ethnicity, or sect. This places him heads and shoulders above his rival politicians who draw their strength from one province, ethnicity or sect — from the Sharif family to that of the Zardaris and from Maulana Fazl-ur Rehman to that of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan.

The second factor is that unlike the country’s traditional political parties, the PTI’s hardcore support-base overwhelmingly comprises educated urban upper-middle, middle-and lower-middle class Pakistanis. The PTI has a strong following among women and youngsters, and also represents professionals and various other strata of hard-working Pakistanis, including labourers. Even in smaller cities and rural areas – where dynastic constituency based politics remain in vogue – the PTI is a force to be reckoned with.

These are the people who are wedded to the idea of a “Naya Pakistan.” They want an end to the elite’s capture of power and the economy. They want the rule of law, justice and merit in Pakistan. They stand against corruption, nepotism and patronage. They rightly think that dynastic politics is anti-people in its essence and remains incompatible with 21st Century Pakistan if it has to progress, modernise and develop. They want Pakistan’s institutions to stand with the people rather than side with the old corrupt order. They even see neutrality as siding with those who have brought Pakistan down to its knees.

These are the values and dreams which the ‘youthias’ – Pakistan’s young, and the young at heart – harbour. Today, these collective dreams are articulated through Imran Khan. Tomorrow, these dreams will be part of Pakistan’s collective consciousness. Whatever the old order may do and try, 21st Century Pakistan cannot be dragged back to the 20th Century.