Catch Me if You Can

The govt’s attempts to politically do away with Imran Khan has only succeeded in fortifying his support

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan is riding high on the crest of a wave of public support/sympathy, despite all efforts by the state to rein him in. His public meetings have drawn mammoth crowds, and millions of people listen to him on the Internet. Last week, he held a fund-raising telethon for the flood victims, and despite restricted coverage on a couple of television stations, he received a record amount of pledges —  amounting to five billion rupees — in just a few hours. This despite the fact that television channels have either been forced by the authorities to black out his speeches, or they have been switched off on the cable network. Talk show anchors supporting his viewpoint have been taken off the air, and social media activists are under pressure from the authorities not to criticise Khan’s opponents. Furthermore, the government has instituted several criminal cases against him. However, so far at least, little has worked to his disadvantage.

If public meetings, a social media following and by-election results are considered indicators of popularity, Imran Khan reigns supreme. People are in thrall of him. When he speaks, crowds cheer. The state is tightening the noose around him, but he is not deterred. “I will fight you. Don’t push me to the wall to the extent that I am forced to spill the beans about those who, to serve their own personal interests, landed the country in this mess,” he said while addressing a huge rally in Sargodha last Thursday. “The more pressure you put on me by filing cases against me, the more intensely I will fight back.”

It was Imran Khan’s rabid opponent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, an ally in Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government, who first publicly floated the idea that Khan be implicated in criminal cases. “We will warm the earth beneath your feet,” the Maulana warned Imran Khan at a news conference, and advised Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah not to be lenient with him. The Maulana suggested that the government file cases against him, and the federal government promptly obliged. It started filing one case after another. A ruling party member filed a case against him in the Election Commission of Pakistan for being untruthful about his declared assets, rendering him ineligible to hold public office. The hearing in that case is currently underway. Additionally, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched an inquiry against him for alleged violation of law in regard to the collection of funds from expatriate Pakistanis, though the matter had already been adjudicated by the Election Commission of Pakistan. And most recently, the government registered a terrorism case against him on the charge of making threats to a judge — news that made international headlines. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) meanwhile, took suo moto action against him on the charge of contempt of court, because Khan publicly announced that he would take action against the judge who had physically remanded his aide Shehbaz Gill in police custody, despite knowing that the police had tortured him.

The ruling parties are using cases against Imran Khan as a tool for defaming him, though with little success. Khan, however, believes that his political rivals are afraid of competing with him on the political turf given his mass appeal, and they are trying to oust him from the electoral arena by getting a court verdict against him on technical grounds. He has also expressed the possibility of his physical elimination. “They planned against me in a closed-door meeting. I have recorded a message about those who conspired against me and ensured the recording is safe. If something happens to me, this recording will be made public,” he reiterated in the Sargodha meeting.

If the intention was to implicate Imran Khan in criminal cases to keep him distracted from political activities, the plan has not worked. Undaunted by these tactics, Khan has been holding one rally after another all over the country. The PTI activists believe even if Imran Khan is convicted on technical grounds and made ineligible for contesting elections or holding public office, he will still lead his party and win the elections. The PTI’s politics revolves around Khan and he can rule by proxy. After all, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is calling the shots despite being a convict.

The project aimed at containing Imran Khan has failed for a host of reasons. The PDM-PPP coalition government has disappointed its supporters. When in the opposition, they had targeted Imran Khan for price-hikes and the IMF agreement, and promised if in power, they would lower the inflation rate. But they have been unable to deliver on their promise since assuming power. The people are reeling under the record high inflation seen during the last four-and-a-half months of the present government. The headline inflation rate (Consumer Price Index) in the month of August was around 28 per cent — the highest since 1973. This compared to around 8.5 per cent in August 2021 when Khan was in power. The weekly inflation rate (Sensitive Price Index) in the last week of August meanwhile, shot up to an unprecedented 44.5 per cent. The petrol price stands at Rs. 236 per litre as compared to Rs 150 per litre when Imran Khan left the government. Pakistani currency is down to Rs 218 to a dollar from Rs 182 to a dollar in April this year. The power tariff has registered a frighteningly steep hike during the last few months, and the general public is up in arms, burning their electricity bills on the streets.

The intense and overt public resentment propelled Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif  to announce the abolition of the fuel surcharge for a category of electricity consumers. The Sharif government has also worked hard to revive the IMF agreement which when out of power, his party used to castigate. Given this backdrop, the coalition parties have suffered a significant loss in credibility. The cataclysmic flooding in Sindh and Balochistan has made matters worse, especially for the PPP in Sindh where it has been in power for the last 14 years and is viewed as being largely responsible for the misery of the flood victims.

In their haste to overthrow Imran Khan’s government before it could complete its five year term, his opponents and their patrons ironically benefited him. The way certain PTI legislators were made to switch  loyalties, amid allegations of horse-trading, created a sympathy wave for Khan. Above all, he skillfully exploited the issue of what he repeatedly alleged was US intervention against his government, by making public certain portions of a diplomatic cipher, in the process arousing nationalist sentiment. On the flip side, the label of ‘US stooge’ has increasingly stuck to the Shahbaz Sharif government. Sharif’s own statements pandering to America have reinforced this image. The slogan of national independence and defiance to America sells among the middle class and the country’s generation-Z, the mainstay of Khan’s support.

Imran Khan may have some deficiencies, he may lack in realpolitik and make some questionable statements at times, but he unarguably retains his popularity among the public. People judge him in contrast to his rivals. The Sharifs and Zardaris are a tried and tested lot who have ruled the country turn by turn since 1985. Imran Khan is yet to be fully tested. By denying him his five year tenure, the PPP and the PMLN have helped him. Hounding him with criminal cases has conferred on him the stature of victimhood; he is seen as a a hero up against all odds. The gamble of regime-change was premised on the assumption that after losing power Imran Khan would not fight back and leave the country. It has turned out to be anything but that.