It seems it’s only a matter of time before somebody within PTI advises Imran Khan to talk less in public. For, in a manner with only one vague parallel in the country’s political history, PTI workers are now more often than not running to put out fires inadvertently lit by the party chief, just like MQM spokespersons used to do once upon a time. The latest is the newest revelation about why the transfer of the former ISI chief became such a big deal. Imran Khan’s admission that he wanted General Faiz around a little longer because he was aware of the machinations of the opposition has left more egg on his and his party’s face than anybody in the opposition or the establishment. No doubt such a thing is not new, and politicians have depended on the intelligence apparatus for the longest time, but for a mainstream politician and one time PM to say such things in the open can only serve to widen the cleavage between his party and the more important institutions of the state. It also exposes PTI’s incredible story about the foreign conspiracy as something that was most likely stitched up much later. That’s why everybody in the party, from the rank and file to the very top brass, is now busy spinning Imran Khan’s comment about the intel chief, and what it implies for charges of hybrid regime, etc, into something that makes PTI look like the only saving grace for Pakistan’s future. How this helps PTI, especially considering the impressive way it’s been able to generate so much momentum in such little time, is very hard to see. It was already struggling to refute allegations of being first selected and then abandoned by the establishment, and now the party head has himself confirmed how he was relying on the premier intelligence agency to continue serving as his “eyes as ears” as a political storm – a perfectly legitimate one, by the way – was brewing. That the military would distance itself from all such things was pretty obvious, and it’s even issued a stern warning against dragging it into political disputes. There’s not much to suggest that things will get much clearer in the coming days. *