Tens of thousands of PTI supporters peacefully rallied alongside their MPs outside of Islamabad on Sunday for former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s release from jail, where he’s been held for over a year already on dubious and in some cases outright ridiculous charges. The security services then arrested at least a dozen party leaders the next day, including some MPs from the premises of Parliament itself, in what PTI described as “a slap to the face of an already decimated democracy”. Here’s what it all means:
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1. PTI Lives On Despite Nearly 30 Months Of Repressions
The abductions, torture, state persecution, and even in some cases assassination of opposition members like journalist Arshad Sharif since April 2022’s US-backed post-modern coup haven’t destroyed PTI, which remains intact and is still genuinely popular as proven by Sunday’s peaceful rally. This speaks to the continued appeal of their anti-corruption and pro-sovereignty message. It also shows that people are increasingly fed up with the ruling PMLN-PPP duopoly and their powerful military-intelligence backers.
2. Hearts & Minds Were Always The Establishment’s To Lose
The Establishment, which in the Pakistani context refers to its powerful military and intelligence services that run the country behind the scenes, is responsible for society’s polarization. None of the abovementioned repressions would have happened without their approval. They’re hellbent on keeping PTI out of power due to an understanding that they reached with their American counterparts. The resultant policy of “state terror” irreparably lost countless hearts and minds to their cause.
3. The US Predictably Turned A Blind Eye To This Crackdown
The most that the US will do in response to the latest crackdown is repeat platitudes about democracy and the rule of law due to the aforesaid understanding that they reached with the Pakistani Establishment, which became obvious after the de facto imposition of martial law in May 2023. The Intercept also proved last year that Pakistan sold arms to Ukraine as a quid pro quo for IMF aid. PTI activists therefore shouldn’t get their hopes up about the US dumping its Pakistani toadies.
4. The Establishment Fears The Power Of The Pakistani People
PTI is the only force capable of mobilizing a broad swath of the Pakistani people, whose combined efforts in the form of peaceful rallies and other manifestations are feared by The Establishment. They’re also paranoid that PTI has sympathizers within the military and intelligence services who might disobey speculative shoot-to-kill orders if they’re ever issued, thus explaining the persecution of Imran Khan’s former ISI chief Faiz Hameed in order to stifle internal dissent. All these moves are self-defeating.
5. Is A False Flag Provocation Or Conspiracy Theory Imminent?
These four observations lead to concern that The Establishment might stage a false flag provocation or concoct an associated conspiracy theory to connect PTI with the latest upsurge of terrorism. The “Taliban Khan” smear that their PMLN-PPP puppets used to popularize to defame the former premier could therefore be revived through similarly artificial means as the US Establishment’s Democrat puppets’ latest Russiagate conspiracy for the same politically self-serving reasons against the opposition.
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Pakistan’s latest anti-democratic crackdown hints at an even more vigorous repression of the opposition in the future, one which is driven by The Establishment’s fear of the respect that PTI commands among a growing segment of the population. Paranoia is also at play regarding the scenario of PTI sympathizers within The Establishment’s own ranks. The best way forward is to release Imran Khan and let PTI (which won the most seats in February’s elections) form a new government, but it’s doubtful that’ll happen.
