Pakistan's 'King of Chaos' Imran Khan keeps winning even behind bars

Publications 3 March, 2024 18:19

Pakistan's recent elections were supposed to bring in a period of stability, badly needed to deal with crippling inflation and bitter political divides in the country, writes author and journalist Mohammed Hanif.

Instead, they delivered a minority government - a shaky, reluctant coalition that looks unsure of its own mandate.

Two weeks after the elections, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto announced that they would form a government but that the PPP wouldn't be part of it.

The midnight announcement by the leaders of both parties was made in sombre tones and had the air of a shotgun wedding. Suddenly, Pakistan was that rare democracy where nobody really wanted to be the prime minister.

The "establishment" - a euphemism used by local media for Pakistan's powerful military - has always believed that general elections are too sensitive an exercise to be left to civilian politicians.

This time around they opened their old election playbook and used every trick deployed successfully in the past.

The main contender Imran Khan was put in jail. He faces more than 150 criminal and civil charges, all of which he denies.

A week before the elections he was sentenced in three cases - in one he was accused of contracting a marriage in a hurry. His party, denied its election symbol and a united platform, were forced to contest as independents.

Many were evading police raids instead of campaigning in their constituencies. His main opponents were cleared of many cases against them and given a free hand to campaign.

On election day social media and mobile phone services were shut down, apparently for security concerns but in reality, to ensure that Khan supporters didn't have easy access to the polling booths and would find it hard to identify their candidates on the ballot paper.

Khan's supporters showed remarkable ingenuity, formed WhatsApp groups, improvised apps and websites overnight and reached polling booths and managed to find their candidates.

His party used AI-generated speeches to convey the message of their jailed leader. Imran Khan's prison ID number was turned into an election slogan.

They campaigned guerrilla-style and sprang a surprise on election day.

Despite all the claims of rigging against it, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) still emerged as the single largest party in the election. The Khan wave on election day was too strong to be reined in by routine rigging.

The establishment used 20th-Century tactics to tame a digital savvy generation - and lost.

To the military's tried and tested machinations, the voters' response was polite and defiant: thank you, but no thank you, we are not as ignorant and illiterate as you think we are. We may not be able to take you on in the streets, you have your guns, but here's our stamp on the ballot. Do what you will with it.