Imran Khan does not doubt himself. When the former cricketer claimed victory in the election of Pakistan in a live speech to the nation, he seemed generally sure of himself, more than ready for his long-awaited appointment with the # 39; history. The controversial poll, he said, was "the cleanest" and "the fairest" the country has ever had.
After a qualified election of dirtiest for years, it was a surprising claim. But, if there is one skill that Khan seems to master in life, it is the art of positive visualization. Believe it and it will be so. His 2011 autobiography, which describes an outstanding sports career that culminated in Pakistan's victory in 1992 against the World Cup and its first struggles as a political alien, is full of anecdotes about how to believe in the impossible.
it seems to have worked. For one point
Because if Khan, leader of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI), finally won the battle of his life, it comes at a price. This election – Khan's fourth candidacy for office – has seen the stubborn politician adopt a ruthless realism in his attempt to break the stranglehold on the country's Bhutto and Sharif dynasties. By default or design, he was the preferred candidate of the army. The idea that he was swept away by the hidden currents of the deep state of the country cast a shadow over his victory. the crackdown on corruption on the Pakistani-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) of the Sharifs, which included the imprisonment of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif following the revelations of the Panama Papers leak in 2016. For Khan, the timing was fortuitous. Critics have criticized attempts to silence media voices and the mbad defection of PML-N candidates at PTI, allegedly orchestrated by intelligence agents.
Recruiting these "elected officials" is a tactic that could have remained in Khan's craw in the past years, when the pro-democracy crusader had a higher, even naive, approach to challenging the elections. Khan's defense of the country's controversial blasphemy laws served as a further incentive to these political mercenaries. According to the insiders of the PTI, this has displeased the elements of the old party guard, who have been sidelined to clear seats for the newcomers.
Politics in Pakistan is an unfair affair in which only ruthless people thrive. . Once Khan understood this, it seems that he has never looked back. But attributing its success purely to an alteration of the deep and shady state would be dishonest. The defense of critics of Sharif, a man who was enriched and raised to power under the military dictatorship of Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s, certainly no stranger to dirty politics himself, failed to resonate with voters eager to Try something new. Khan, at least, had not been tested. And, until now, without stain.
Imran Khan's supporters celebrate in Karachi on Thursday, a day after the general election. Photography: Rizwan Tabbadum / AFP / Getty Images
"The army has definitely supported Khan in one way or another, but that does not mean that he has not benefited from popular support," says Mazhar Abbas, former AFP bureau chief, now with Geo TV. "One of Khan's positive points is that it really brought out the people who do not normally vote in elections, women and youth.There are now a lot of expectations on him.
The main challenges
Concerned about taking power, the question is whether Khan, whose PTI party fell short of a majority and will probably call freelancers to dial numbers, will have the chance to win. The main challenges will be institution building and the eradication of corruption, two initiatives that could lead to a direct collision with the fickle and selfish elected representatives of its own ranks, a group who understands the owners accustomed to firing the shots in their
The economy is about to collapse, Khan should soon knock on the doors of the International Monetary Fund.Azeema Cheema, a political badyst, believes that His victory speech, which hit a moderate note on relations with the United States and India, was the first step in inspiring the confidence of the international community. "The economy comes first, it will have to lobby to make itself credible and it will be linked to the foreign policy decisions it will make."
Relations with the United States could also be difficult
It is precisely on foreign policy that Khan could come into conflict with the military, whose popularity in the country stems largely from the portrayal of India as an existential threat. If Sharif has been scrambling with the generals, it is because he was perceived as being too comfortable with India, disputing the alleged military support of Islamist militants in the country. Kashmir and Afghanistan, under Indian control
. Populist Card
Playing the populist card, Khan accused the West of bashing the Pakistani army to strengthen India during his campaign, but as a result of the victory, he spoke about his plans. Away from the "fault game" that broke the two nuclear nations since the score. the United States could also be tricky. In his first tweet of 2018, Donald Trump castigated Pakistan for his "lies and deception," accusing the country of playing a double game on terrorism. This year, the United States withdrew 255 million dollars (220 million euros) from Pakistan. Khan is fiercely opposed to the war on terror, claiming that 70,000 lives were lost by fighting an American war that led to a resurgence of militancy. With Khan in power, relations between the two countries may require a reset.
Diplomats will monitor closely whether Khan will be able to snatch defense and foreign policy from the generals. Kamal Alam, a Pakistani expert from the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, doubts that Khan will agree to be dictated by the military. "Apart from him, nobody in Pakistan really understands international affairs," he says. "He understands the Americans and the British."
Dirty Realities
No positive visualization can change the dreadful realities of Pakistani politics. Nor, indeed, the circumstances in which Khan gained power. But the nation relies on its will to realize the vision of strong institutions and social justice that has captivated the nation's imagination. If we consider the bloody history of Pakistan, the successive blows interspersed with periods of dynastic rule where the looting of the country became the norm, the arrival of Khan could mark a new era.
A Party Activist in Lahore Tells The Irish Times The hope is that Pakistan's elected prime minister will create a country where no one needs military and voters to win the power. An impossible dream? Time will tell us.
