NEW DELHI: He has been shot, hit with over 180 cases ranging from rioting to terrorism, and sentenced to decades in jail. Many of his senior party members are also in jail or have been coerced to sit out of politics, and even his wife has been convicted.
It has been one setback after another for former
Pakistan
prime minister
Imran Khan
ever since he was ousted from power in April 2022 in an unprecedented no-confidence vote.
Once considered the blue-eyed boy of the
Establishment
(Pakistan army), the cricketer-turned-politician has fallen far from its grace.
Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has also not escaped the wrath of the powers that be. The PTI has been barred from using its iconic poll symbol -- the cricket bat -- in the upcoming general elections on February 8, all but sealing its fate in a largely illiterate populace.
In just two short years, the 71-year-old’s chances of a political comeback have basically been reduced to nil, despite retaining broad public support.
Legal woes keep mounting
Just this week, the former PM has been convicted in three separate cases, and handed down jail sentences of 10 years (in cypher case), 14 years (in toshakhana case) and 7 years (Iddat case). He has also been barred from holding public office for a period of 10 years.
In prison since August last year after being convicted in a corruption case, the 71-year-old denies all wrongdoing and has repeatedly accused the military of persecuting him.
Cypher case
Khan's conviction in the cypher case is specially significant. The former PM has been jailed for 10 years for making public a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan's ambassador in Washington in 2022, in what is commonly known as the cypher case.
Waving a piece of paper during a massive rally in March 2022 -- just a month before his ouster -- Imran Khan launched his first wholly against the army and accused it of being hand-in-glove with foreign powers. Khan has said the cable was proof of a conspiracy by the military and US government to topple his government in 2022 after he visited Moscow just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
May 9 riots
Another legal woe that could have severe implications for Khan is an anti-terror case that carries the death penalty as maximum punishment.
Khan has been indicted under Pakistan's anti-terrorism law in connection with violence against the military that erupted following his brief arrest related to the Al-Qadir case on May 9. Khan has denied the charges under the anti-terrorism law, saying he was in detention when the violence took place.
The protests were unprecedented in the fact people took out their anger on military sites rather than government institutions or properties.
PTI slowly being disassembled
Pakistan’s military kingmakers are using every trick at their disposal to sideline the nation’s most popular politician, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party as well as his supports have also not been spared.
Following the May 9 riots, thousands of PTI workers have been arrested, dozens of party leaders have resigned following lengthy interrogations, and Khan’s name was banned from mainstream media.
The PTI was barred from holding any public rallies while the media was barred from reporting about them.
While the PTI did try to skirt the many restrictions by having Imran Khan address groups virtually, Internet connectivity was always an issue. Supporters alleged that the government regularly cut internet connection in any area where a PTI rally is planned.
A cricketer without a bat
The greatest blow to PTI's comeback prospects was dealt by the election commission, which has barred the party from using its cricket bat symbol.
In a country with high illiteracy, a party symbol is the main way for people to recognise their candidates. However, with the party being banned from using the cricket bat, most PTI candidates have been forced to run as independents, each with their own specific poll symbol.
Recognising the problem, the PTI recently posted on social media urging supporters to ensure that everyone knows who the PTI candidate is in their respective areas and the poll symbol that is being used.
"The election symbol is an integral component of fair elections," PTI spokesperson Raoof Hasan said, adding: "It [symbol ban] is rendering the party toothless."
Even registering as independents has not been easy for the PTI. Each candidate must file their nomination in the constituency where they intend to stand, but PTI’s candidates frequently find their nomination papers snatched or rejected due to trivial errors. Khan's own nomination papers have been rejected.
Army's new blue-eyed boy
The hurdles facing Khan and the PTI stand in stark contrast to the lot dealt to Nawaz Sharif, three-time former PM, who was most recently ousted for corruption in 2017 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. In 2018, Sharif traveled to London on bail for medical treatment but absconded and remained a fugitive in exile.
But on October 21, an apparently healthy Sharif returned to Pakistan, where his corruption conviction was swiftly quashed and last week his lifetime ban from politics also overturned.
It is no secret that Pakistan’s military kingmakers have thrown their support behind Sharif, which ultimately means he will likely become PM for a record fourth term following the February 8 elections.
But Sharif should be wary. No Pakistan PM has ever completed a full term — and if Sharif gets back in, few would bet on him becoming the first at the fourth time.
(With inputs from agencies)
Watch Pak Army's relentless crackdown erases former PM Imran Khan's party ahead of vote
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