Vanishing Act: Former PAK PM Imran Khan and his Party mysteriously absent from the Election campaign spotlight
Pakistan’s leading political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is mysteriously absent from the election campaign for the upcoming general election. Imran Khan was barred from contesting elections as well and was sentenced to jail for corruption charges.
FollowThe preparations for the general election are in full swing in Pakistan as the big day is just two weeks away. However, former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is absent from the election fervor so far. The cricketer-turned-politician was the winner of the last general election in 2018 and successfully formed a coalition government.
Imran Khan had the blessings of the all-powerful Pakistan Army. However, that support turned upside down after Imran Khan's anti-establishment rhetoric after coming into power. Double-crossing his bosses in Rawalpindi, Imran Khan went into the lap of China ditching the United States. The money flow into Islamabad and Rawalpindi stopped from Washington under Khan.
The Pakistan Army had enough of Khan's rhetoric as the opposition seized the opportunity and got together to bring down Imran Khan's government through a no-confidence motion in 2022. Imran Khan, despite several warnings, initiated several anti-establishment jalsas (rallies) which resulted in him going to jail on corruption charges.
The 71-year-old is also barred from taking part in the upcoming general elections which has given a huge blow to PTI's chances. Moreover, the party is nowhere on the ground in the election campaign. Several of its candidates have been threatened to withdraw. Jamal Ahsan Khan who is standing on the Mianwali seat on the ticket of PTI has revealed shocking details.
Jamal Ahsan Khan said, “Our party [activists] are facing harassment, and I personally have received death threats. Throughout my life, I have never witnessed an election as intense and threatening as this one. It feels disheartening that as a candidate of Pakistan's leading political party, I am unable to conduct my campaign in a meaningful way.”
