Ex-PM Khan’s party hopeful of ‘bright political future’ despite crackdown, convictions

Despite facing a state crackdown on its supporters and the recent convictions of its top leaders, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party founded by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, remains optimistic about its chances in the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 8. Khan, who has been in jail since August 2021, was recently sentenced to ten years in prison for leaking secret diplomatic cables and an additional 14 years for profiting from the sale of state gifts received while in office.

When PTI was first founded in 1996, it failed to win a single seat in the 1997 general elections. In the 2002 elections, Khan was the sole winner from his home constituency of Mianwali. The party boycotted the 2008 general elections under military dictator General Pervez Musharraf but gained popularity from 2011 onward due to Khan’s opposition to US drone strikes and his anti-drone march.

In the 2013 general elections, PTI emerged as a major party with over 7.5 million votes, ranking second in terms of votes and third in terms of seats won. The party formed the government in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In the 2018 elections, Khan’s intensive campaign won him 149 seats in the National Assembly, making him the prime minister with the help of allied parties.

However, in April 2022, Khan was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence and accused the military of being behind it. He led public rallies and his party won 28 out of 37 by-elections since his ouster. Despite being barred from participating in the upcoming elections and his candidates running as independents, Khan remains popular according to recent public surveys.

“We will come out of all this … these convictions [of Khan] cannot stand scrutiny of the higher courts,” said Raoof Hassan, the PTI information secretary. “We have a bright political future despite all the state crackdowns against our supporters and leaders as we will be winning majority seats in the February 8 polls.”

While political analysts believe that PTI may face difficulties in the short term, they acknowledge the party’s potential for recovery in the long run.

“The PTI, as a party, is out of the elections now,” stated political analyst Amir Zia. “Even if some PTI-backed candidates win the election, they will be influenced by other parties to join their ranks to form the government.”

Despite challenges, the PTI retains a strong support base among young urban voters. Dr. Hassan Askari Rizvi, another political analyst, emphasized that only time will tell if the public will come out to vote for PTI on February 8.

Source:

Source