Time is telling… Khan is coming!
By M.M
Pakistani politics is indeed a strange museum. Here, the winds of change take weeks, not years, to shift. Looking at how the noose was tightened around PTI, and especially the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, from June 2023 following the events of May 9, it seemingly appeared that this chapter had finally closed. The anti-establishment narrative was at its peak, a long series of arrests was ongoing, and the party leadership was under immense pressure due to a severe crackdown. But the dust of time is now settling, and political indicators are telling a completely different story.
If observed closely, that hardline attitude post-May 9 is now clearly softening. The memories are still fresh of how the institutions used to spring into action and aggressively turn back protesters during the Islamabad visits and protest calls of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. But now, if that situation is compared to the governance style of current Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi and the September 27 protest, the balance of power feels like it is shifting.
Today’s reality is that the institutions and the establishment do not seem as strictly opposed to PTI as they were before. The way Sohail Khan Afridi is being given free space and the absence of those previous hurdles in his political movements towards Islamabad is not a mere coincidence. The leniency and political freedom observed regarding the September 27 protest is a clear indication that backdoor channels have been restored, and a favorable environment is being created for Khan’s return.
On the other hand, alarm bells have started ringing for the ruling coalition (PML-N and PPP) in the center and Punjab. If these two parties do not cooperate on vital national issues like the creation of new administrative units or provinces, it will seal the fact that the era of the old political players is coming to an end. Sensing this situation, the establishment has already started balancing the scales.
Interestingly, despite being in power, PML-N and PPP are victims of their own created fear. The sudden reactivation of cases and the issuance of arrest warrants against nearly 21 senior PTI officials and active workers in Faisalabad reflects this very panic. The government is making failed attempts to project strength, but in reality, these actions expose their internal fears.
This fear is also acknowledged in a recent statement by Maryam Nawaz, where she openly stated that “Punjab is threatened by incompetence, and nothing else.” This statement is not just a political commentary but an admission that their administrative grip has weakened and their popularity graph in the center and Punjab is rapidly declining.
When all these political dots are connected, including the leniency in the crackdown compared to Ali Amin Gandapur’s era, the free space given to Sohail Khan Afridi, the fearless environment of the September 27 protest, the government’s fear-driven cases against the opposition in Faisalabad, and the Punjab government’s admission of helplessness, they all point to a single conclusion. The direction of the winds has changed, the establishment’s priorities are shifting, and all signs are now screaming: Time is telling, Khan is coming!
But a major and serious question arises here…
If the path for Khan’s return is truly being paved with the support of the establishment, then what will happen to Imran Khan’s entire hardcore “anti-establishment” narrative? Was all that narrative of resistance and principles simply a ploy to regain power?
The question is, will Imran Khan also enter the corridors of power by sitting on the establishment’s shoulders, playing in their lap, and becoming their puppet, just like PML-N and PPP? Or will he stand by his narrative and principled stance, making decisions based on genuine public power? This will be the crucial test proving whether Khan’s slogan was a true political revolution or just another traditional path to acquiring power!
