Islamabad- A year has passed since the former Pakistani Prime Minister and founder of the party halves Imran Khan He is behind bars on charges related to several cases, some of which he was acquitted in and others he is still on trial in.
On August 5 last year, Imran Khan, the most popular man among political leaders in Pakistan For the second time, as his party struggles in the opposition after a “controversial” election that the party describes as “stolen.”
Cricket star Imran Khan was first arrested on May 9, 2023, on charges of “corruption,” leading to protests and violence in key parts of the country, with his supporters attacking army and government headquarters, prompting authorities to crack down on them, with several still on trial.
Tough year
The name of the Insaf Party is closely associated with the name of its founder, Imran Khan, which is its main strength due to his great fame, charisma and ability to mobilize.
“It has indeed been a difficult year for the party in the absence of its leader and chief,” said Humayun Mohmand, a PTI senator and chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Health.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, he explained that they miss Imran Khan among them, and that they have gone through difficult times in his absence, especially during the election period, due to the withdrawal of Insaf’s electoral symbol and its prevention from competing as a political party, which forced all candidates to run independently.
Mohmand added that they were subjected to all kinds of “restrictions”, including the re-arrest of some party members who had been released on bail on “trivial charges based on the assumption that they might pose a danger to the country”, in addition to travel bans for a number of leaders.
He pointed out that the government did not allow them to engage in a single political activity, saying, “Whenever the PTI tries to do something, they either do not give us permission or try to impose Article 144, which bans public gatherings.”
compete
Political analyst Javed Rana believes that in the absence of Imran Khan, Insaf has somewhat lost its ability to mobilize in some areas, and believes that the party seems somewhat “afraid” of organizing demonstrations in Islamabad AndPunjab.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Javed Rana cited “the recent show of force that Insaf held in the city of Swabi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan, where the party rules,” while he refrained from organising a demonstration in Islamabad due to the government’s ban on him doing so.
The real beginning of the PTI's difficulties came after the first arrest of Imran Khan, as the events that followed forced the resignation of a number of its senior figures and leaders, including Fawad Chaudhry, the former Minister of Information and one of Imran Khan's close associates, and Asad Umar, the former Finance Minister in the party's government.
Before that, the party had gone through political events that ended with the overthrow of its government through a vote of no confidence in it in Parliament in April 2022, and the party accused the opposition forces of cooperating with external parties to overthrow it.
In this context, Senator Mohmand says that like all political parties, within Insaf every political figure seeks a higher position, so there is fierce competition within it, and because of it, there is a difference of opinion, and there may be some kind of conflict that may be positive or negative. In the absence of Khan, these conflicts become “a bit exaggerated.”
In Imran Khan's absence, the party appears “very disorganized and undisciplined,” according to Javed Rana, with many of its members competing for leadership.
Strong presence
The PTI faced multiple obstacles during the Pakistani general elections last February, in which it performed “well” despite its members running as independents, and thus being unable – if they won a majority – to form a government. This is what happened, as its candidates won 93 seats, defeating the main rivals, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and the National Assembly. Nawaz Sharif) AndPakistani people.
Senator Mohmand stressed that despite the restrictions, the turnout of people to vote for the party was good, and “if Imran Khan was out of prison, the turnout could have doubled,” and he would have organized a strong election campaign, and “the authorities could not have stopped him.”
If the law is implemented, Imran Khan will be released from prison within a few days, and he could be released within 3 or 4 months, according to the same spokesman.
Javed Rana agrees, saying that in the last elections, although the party was “very disorganized,” they did well. He added that Imran Khan’s absence from the political scene and his more than a year in prison had made him more popular.
He stresses that given Imran Khan's rising popularity, it will not be easy to keep him in prison. “It is a matter of time, he will be released,” he says, adding that “the change in the Chief Justice of Pakistan in the next few months may also play a role in his release.”
