Gaining Momentum

Imran Khan’s growing popularity is the sole reason for the PTI’s victories in 2013, 2018, LG polls, and recent by-elections

Peshawar: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) once again outnumbered the party workers from Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), thronging to Rawalpindi in large numbers on November 26 to join their leader Imran Khan in his first public appearance after an attack on his life three weeks earlier.

It could be argued that, in comparison to many other parts of Punjab, KP is closer to the federal capital and its twin city, Rawalpindi, but die-hard supporters of the former premier travelled for more than 12 hours from Chitral in northern KP and nearly a similar distance from Dera Ismail Khan and Tank in its south.

Although the next general election is still many months away, based on the results of recent by-elections and, more importantly, Imran Khan’s ever-increasing fan base, one can confidently predict that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will find it extremely difficult to defeat Imran Khan despite the many shortcomings of his elected party members in the province.

One reason, according to political analyst Lehaz Ali, is the undeniable fact that the people follow Imran Khan, and the vote PTI gets is all because of his magnetic personality. “It is not the PTI or local leaders that the people of KP support; it is only Imran Khan they follow without hesitation. Imran was the reason for the PTI’s victory in 2013, 2018, local body elections, and the recent by-elections, where he defeated very strong candidates such as Aiman Wali Khan in Charsadda and Maulana Muhammad Qasim in Mardan,” Lehaz said.

He opined that the provincial leadership meant very little for the success or failure of PTI in KP. “Even if ex-chief minister Pervez Khattak or the current chief minister Mahmood Khan were to part ways with PTI, they would be unable to harm the party, as people will still vote for PTI because they see Imran Khan at the top. Whoever is selected by Khan to contest in elections will get a PTI vote without any ambiguity. A good example is that of former PTI provincial minister Ziaullah Afridi, who in 2013–2014 was referred to by some as the de facto CM of the province. But when he was expelled from the party, he came fourth in the general elections on the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ticket in 2018,” Lehaz detailed.

According to some political experts in KP, nearly 80 per cent of the people joining PTI’s rallies in the federal capital come from KP, and they all come to hear Imran Khan. “This is why they aren’t bothered if the provincial or their local leadership do not lead them during the protest rallies. Another important point is that even though government employees or businessmen are not allowed to protest the way they want in KP, they still strongly support Imran Khan in any elections because they take Khan as a sincere leader who wants to solve their problems but was not able to do so because of the flaws in the system in place for the past many decades,” Lehaz Ali added.

On the other hand, the host of a Pashto talk show, Irfan Khan, argues that Imran Khan’s support in the province, particularly in the Pashtun dominant areas, has increased due to his anti-establishment narrative on social media and mainstream media. “It has never happened before that the establishment has been chastised on a national scale for their involvement in government matters,” he stated.

“Prior to this, Manzoor Pashtun, the young leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), gained popularity for his anti-establishment stance. Similarly, in Khan’s case, the former premier is able to precisely know the mood of the people, and he carefully makes his moves based on what the people want to hear. This strategy is bringing him success and more followers on all fronts,” Irfan Khan said.

Another factor, according to the analyst, is that the youth in KP almost entirely support Imran Khan. “Youth make up approximately 64 per cent of our country’s 220 million population. Young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 strongly support Imran, and the same is true in KP. Furthermore, Imran Khan is unquestionably the most well-known leader in KP, and voters blindly trust and follow him. Imran Khan’s words spread faster than any news, thanks to the PTI’s strong social media teams, and most people agree with him on most issues,” Irfan Khan noted.

Irfan Khan went on to say that the PTI chief’s clear stance on important issues is also one of the reasons he attracts voters, even from opposition parties. “Because their narrative is unclear and is not taken seriously by the people, the opposition parties in KP are unable to fill the void. People, for example, no longer believe the Awami National Party (ANP) narrative of peace because it has repeatedly failed. Imran Khan’s previous statements on corruption, on the other hand, were taken very seriously. And now, his current narrative of destabilising his elected government through unfair means is persuading people across the province,” Irfan elaborated.

However, for seasoned journalist Mahmood Jan Babar, the difference between Imran’s politics and those of the PDM parties is his delivery on human interest projects. “It seems that Khan’s party is miles ahead of others, and people will most likely vote for him again. One reason is that the Sehat Card facility has enabled even the poorest to get quality medical treatment that would otherwise be out of their reach. People accept that this is IK’s best achievement and will get him votes for many elections to come. Similarly, another big achievement is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) facility in Peshawar, which benefits thousands of people, particularly women, on a daily basis. This has given people a sense that the PTI cares for them and provides them with such facilities,” Babar argued.

He also stated that people are withdrawing from political parties that Imran Khan has targeted. “By supporting Imran Khan, people achieved two goals: first, the politicians they disliked were disliked by Imran, and he continued to challenge them without stopping; second, the PTI provided important relief and good services to the people,” Babar said.

One issue Mahmood Jan Babar sees with the PTI is the often-visible disunity in the PTI leadership in the province. “Unlike the recent by-elections in which Imran Khan contested in all constituencies, the PTI workers have been found fighting over party tickets, which have resulted in defeats in a number of cases, most notably in the contest for Peshawar mayor in the local body elections at the start of this year. Still, I believe the PTI leadership has no other option but to remain with Imran Khan, as they know no one will accept them and that the PTI is their only refuge,” the senior journalist asserted.

“I believe that until something devastating against Imran Khan appears that the people are unable to digest, PTI cannot be defeated in the province. A successful tactic used by the PTI is using anticipatory measures before any attempts to damage Imran Khan’s image,” Mahmood Jan Babar argued, adding, “This makes people mentally ready for any allegations against their leader, and they predominantly believe them to be false even if there are traces of foul play by their leadership.”