Daily Times

Imran Khan has once again given the surprise of his life by sweeping the Punjab by-elections by a thumping majority. It was an important election in which he had to place his new narrative before the people to assess his chances of success in the forthcoming General Elections. Thus this election had to become an index for his future in politics. It was in a way a challenge of life and death for him. He understood its importance and therefore struggled very hard to establish a direct rapport with his electorate by organizing large election rallies in each of the constituencies and addressing them one by one every afternoon. The sweltering and humid climate neither deterred him nor his voters. In all his huge ‘Jalsas’, his voters tuned out in unprecedentedly large numbers. The political commentators reported that never before in history such huge crowds had been witnessed who came to hear their leader with such verve and enthusiasm. Thus these swarming crowds became a harbinger of PTI’s great victory.

What is PTI’s new narrative based on which it would go to the next General Elections? (1)The PTI’s present narrative arises out of its grievance that the PTI regime was removed from power without any rhyme or reason when it was working smoothly. Among many public welfare projects like Sehat cards, Ehsas programme etc there were several primary indicators to show that it was working smoothly. Its achievements included (a) the record Tax Collection( b) Exports rising, (c) Current account deficit reduced to $3 billion from $20 billion within 22 months (d) State Bank reserves increased from $9.7 to $12.3 billion (e) Trade deficit was brought down to $21 billion from $37 billion, and(f) negotiation with IMF had fairly progressed and were close to the favourable finish. All these achievements were made when Covid 19 was at its peak and economic activities in all countries were brought to nearly half. There were thus no valid reasons for the removal of his government which was working satisfactorily against heavy odds which were common to all other nations.

It was commendable on the part of ECP and all law enforcement agencies to conduct this election fairly and impartially.

(2) The narrative further states that due to an international conspiracy some of the members of PTI were bribed to retract so that Khan’s government may lose the majority in the Parliament and thus lose the government. It was alleged based on a document written by a US official that a conspiracy would be hatched at the behest of the United States for the removal of Imran Khan’s govt. by moving a no-confidence motion. He, therefore, pleaded that this was a foreign intervention into Pakistan’s internal matters and had violated the sovereignty of Pakistan. Thus this illicitly imported government was illegal and unconstitutional.

The masses had resentment against the rising prices of commodities of daily use, but the majority of them understood that it was a worldwide phenomenon present all over the world, due to the rise in oil prices. The resentment was not so severe that they could rise in revolt against Imran Khan’s government. Imran khan had been in constant touch with people through his policy of maintaining contact with people either in person or through his numerous TV addresses and interviews to convince them that high prices were not due to his negligence or incompetency. This rise in prices further rose alarmingly during the three months rule of the so-called imported government.

The real edge of Imran Khan over others was his honesty and personal integrity which qualities none of his other politicians possessed who had already been tried and tested by the people. Hence his charisma as an honest and upright man always stood him in good stead, and people despite their difficulties still liked him as against other politicians. Due to his contact with them, he was able to retain his primary image as an upright politician, despite the adverse environment prevailing in the country due to the high prices of commodities. In our peculiar circumstances, the people were confronted with the choice of selecting an Honest Man or a Dishonest Man; they chose the Honest man and discarded the Dishonest Man. My prognosis of their psychology is that a time has reached when people have come to hate dishonesty more than poverty and hunger. The people of Pakistan have seen false men and false promises doing more ravages and causing more hurt and pain than any other curse in the world. Thus in the present contest, it was their easy and inevitable choice to elect Imran khan with all his sins, limitations and weaknesses.

. The by-election to 20 seats where the provincial assembly members had been disqualified was held on July 17, 2022, which polls more than filling the vacant seats proved to be more an index of the popularity of Imran Khan and his PTI. With such an overwhelming victory, the present so-called imported government has lost its moral ground to rule the country. It was thought that the PTI would certainly demand the resignation of the present government and prepare the ground for holding General Elections, but no such demand was made by Imran Khan in his victory speech after yesterday’s election. He might demand early elections in due course of time. He, however, bitterly criticised the Election Commission and demanded that the present CEC should resign from his post being a partial man. But he did not cite any particular instance of irregularity or rigging in this by-election. All impartial observers declared this by-election as impartial and fair. No untoward incidence of violence or rigging was reported from any constituency. All constituencies were situated in highly sensitive areas of Punjab which were a focus of entire Pakistan, and if there had been any foul play, there would have been many bloody clashes. It was commendable on the part of ECP and all law enforcement agencies to conduct this election fairly and impartially. It would have been an appropriate step for Imran Khan to have said a word of praise for them to encourage them to work more zealously in future. In my next article, I will dwell upon how Imran Khan should overcome his political blunders to prolong his tenure to do some constructive developments for Pakistan.

The writer is a former member of the Provincial Civil Service, and an author of Moments in Silence.