Daily Times

Time and again, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has touted its governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a prime example of its stark and unwavering message: nothing screams success like success. The strategy could not get any simpler. Leverage the previous achievements in administrative reforms and grassroots success delivery to lay the foundation of a smart and emotional campaign. However, ordinary voters cannot be expected to put their lives on hold until the much-professed messiah is brought back to the mainstream. Consequently, swirling reports of all not being well in the stronghold are bound to draw ire from crucial corners.

Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s shambolic grip on his house is an open secret. Considering it humanly impossible to juggle rebuilding party lines, picking a bone with the centre on every front and gaining the favour of the boss’s family along with the apparently neglected task of ensuring competence on the home turf, a decline is already underway. According to the finance department, the latest statistics show an overwhelming increase of 28 per cent in the debt portfolio compared to 2023. If alarming media reports are to be believed, international lenders repeatedly urge the government to focus on correcting its course or risk facing serious repercussions. PTI’s social media warriors had made a great song and dance after the Punjab government noted an increase of two per cent in its external debt in September, seemingly oblivious to the gross misgovernance taking hold in their own citadel.

In response to every critical commentary about the leadership over-investing in political issues–left with little willpower or capital to improve the living standards of the people who trusted them with their lives and livelihoods–we hear the same utopian correlation between Imran Khan’s popularity and the elusive key needed to return to the days of milk and honey. They may not realise it now, but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could have been utilised as a golden opportunity to retain their influence in the court of people. Federal or provincial, governments have much more to lose when it comes to street-style confrontations. *