Enough. Azma Bukhari has said what many of us have long suspected: the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf operates a finely tuned machine of coercion, not a political party. This calculated strategy deliberately grinds down opponents, paralyzing the state with abuse, wild allegations, cynical victimhood, and outright falsehoods. Remember 2023? Any PTI arrest was instantly an “abduction.” Such tactics are not politics; they are psychological warfare waged on the hearts and minds of ordinary Pakistanis.
The brazen hypocrisy burns. This was the party roaring about accountability. Our people, yearning for justice, invested hope. Now, every legitimate law enforcement action becomes “persecution.” Their leaders tirelessly spin lies about Imran Khan’s cases and imprisonment. Facts, however, mock their narrative, a chasm between fantasy and reality. Cases against Khan and Bushra Bibi, registered by law, faced transparent delaying tactics. Courts granted ample leeway. Defense failed to refute charges, relying on procedural quibbles. Khan and Bushra Bibi were direct beneficiaries of misappropriation – Toshakhana or the £190 million case, both allegedly reaped financial gains. They availed appeal rights, often benefiting with overturned or suspended sentences. That represents due process repeatedly exploited, not persecution. This drama leaves the common citizen disillusioned, questioning who truly fights for them.
The man who once vowed to rip out air conditioning from opponents’ cells now enjoys unprecedented facilities: a seven-cell complex, corridor for walks, exercise cycle, TV, newspaper, and books.
The most infuriating aspect remains the carefully cultivated myth of Khan’s suffering. The man who once vowed to rip out air conditioning from opponents’ cells now enjoys unprecedented facilities: a seven-cell complex, corridor for walks, exercise cycle, TV, newspaper, and books. That signifies privilege, not hardship. For every ordinary prisoner, for every family struggling for basic dignity, this is a slap in the face. Despite wailing about isolation, facts tell a starkly different story. Khan remains abreast of current affairs, constantly directing his party. His X handle pulsed with 413 tweets since imprisonment. He delivered messages on major political developments. His pronouncements regularly hijack domestic headlines. Incredibly, this ‘convict’ conducted ten interviews with international media. Unprecedented access. He shuffles party leadership, thanks to unrestricted access from 66 individuals who met him in three months. His calls to UK sons, sometimes refused, confirm continuous connection. The public endures the spectacle, while the privileged play games.
Claims of Khan’s political victimization lack solid basis. They are calculated, brazen attempts to weaponize legal accountability into political melodrama. They aim to shatter public trust, sow chaos, and maintain an iron grip on the narrative. This corrosive stream of manufactured outrage poisons our national discourse, leaving citizens cynical and exhausted, stifling genuine progress for the very people these leaders claim to represent. We, the citizens, must see through this coercive circus.
The writer is a freelance columnist.