Source- Money Control
Pundits have pointed out that cricket is emerging into a Batsman’s game, taking away from the gentleman’s sport. This emergence was slower than it would have been, credit to the Pakistani fast bowling attack led by their captain, Imran Khan. A man who stood against the tide in his heyday has been in the ring to fight the tide again in the 2024 Pakistan’s presidential elections. This time, the opposition is the ‘Establishment,’ another word for the Pakistani deep state. However, the public opinion this time may not be as favorable as the tracks of the Aussies. In addition, the elections in Pakistan have never been gentlemanly, making Imran Khan’s attempts and outside chance of winning as nothing short of historic, to say the least.
In a fight against the old guard and the preferred candidate of the Establishment, Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the new guard is being stripped away from the slightest chance that it may have of defeating them. This started on May 9, 2023 when Imran Khan was first arrested by the police. He has been in jail ever since. Since then he has repeatedly been found guilty in four more cases with many more key judgements in the next week just before the election. The sum total of the years of incarceration that Imran Khan has to serve is more than four decades. The Pakistan Supreme Court resolved the long-running dispute over the selection of the iconic electoral emblem on January 13 night by declaring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) intra-party votes null and unlawful, stripping the party of its "bat" symbol. The petitioner, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), contested the legitimacy of the intra-party polling, citing a Pakistani legal requirement that denied party members a symbol and an organization with which to contest the election. Even though the PTI no longer has their identity, they haven't given up at all.
After losing their party, their emblem, and their leader, the members are fighting on their own, knowing that winning the election will help them bring back Imran Khan and Pakistan. The party also aired Khan's first artificial intelligence speech in December while he was in prison, imitating his unique baritone with a voice production technique developed by US start-up ElevenLabs. It also launched its electoral manifesto online and hosted its first-ever TikTok rally last month. The party has gained popularity among young voters, who make up a sizable and engaged portion of the population in this election, thanks to the campaign's internet presence. Nonetheless, there are indications that the party is finding it difficult to maintain its unity without Khan. Many candidates are claiming to be representing the former prime minister in various constituencies, which political observers suggested could split the PTI vote.
Remarkably, 74% of those surveyed said that they trusted the military. 58% of respondents said they trusted the Supreme Court, making it the second most trustworthy institution. The media, with 54% of the vote, came in third. With 42%, the electoral commission received the least amount of confidence. When Pakistan's election cycle began in June 2023, twice as many people would have supported PTI than PML-N if the polls had been held the following week, but as of right now, PML-N and its allies are leading, this indicates that Imran's considerable youth appeal is his sole remaining hope of victory and demonstrates the nation's shift away to backing the underdog.
As the election results are coming in with no parties winning a clear majority, as is the case with Pakistan elections, both Nawaz and Imran have declared victories. However, Imran has won more seats with the Supreme Court, staying the result of the few seats won by the PML-N because of the well-recorded booth capturing by the military. It would be some time before the new government is formed, but the parts of the deep state fighting against each other is a new development in Pakistan politics, with Imran making the most out of his popularity.
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