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ISLAMABAD – Less than a week ago, Imran Khan was a non -conformist in parliament, shouting in a hoarse voice over the loudspeaker music at youth gatherings. Today, he is the prime minister waiting, graciously receiving ambassadors from the Middle East in his hillside mansion above the capital. Outside, supporters have invaded the barricaded entrance, dancing and drumming in a seemingly inexhaustible party frenzy.
In the four days since Khan, a former cricket star turned anti-corruption, toppled Pakistan's ruling Muslim League and all other parties in the polls, a national euphoria remained in the air. agenda. But already, the moment of triumph is tempered by a gloomy reflection on the magnitude of the challenges facing Khan as he attempts to transform a vast, poor, prey to a series of entrenched evils.
"He is our last hope." All other parties are full of thieves, "said Luqman Khan, 21, a tissue shop worker who volunteered for Khan and voted for the During the campaign, he said in a slightly brighter tone: "We all went out and told everyone that he was a new and clean person who would change things. Now, we expect him to keep his promises. "
Khan, who campaigned to end corruption and bring justice to the public, won a comfortable majority of seats, but not enough to governing without forming a coalition, his party swept the polls across the country, toppling dozens of powerful lawmakers who have since struggled to diminish and cast doubt on his victory, and complained about vote rigging and Military interference, demanded the recount of the ballots and threatened to counteract it during each legislative reform.
But the digital and psychological reality of Khan's historic victory began to rain. Analysts liken it to the birth of the Pakistan People's Party in 1967, when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a wealthy socialist ideologist, was elected to power and began revolutionizing the country. Khan, a more conservative politician, envisions a more modest transformation, but one that would challenge the privileged elite to its core.
In the midst of the clamor of protest, Khan and his team spent the past few days hailing courting the independents and others enough to govern both the nation and the Punjab province, the most populous region and the most largest in the country. His assistants said that they were expecting him to be sworn in as prime minister by August 14th.
Activists of the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam political party protest against alleged electoral fraud in Peshawar. Cricket hero Imran Khan won an emphatic victory in an election in Pakistan criticized by foreign observers. (Abdul Majeed / AFP / Getty Images)
But as of Husain asked about whether Khan raised public expectations too high, whether the controversy raised by his opponents during the polls will obscure his efforts and make his agenda inapplicable, and how he will solve his own problems. contradictions as a leader that demands fairness for the poor, but also showed a weakness for the powerful army and religious extremists.
"The real burden is on the winner," Husain wrote. "It is now the mandate to bring about a new Pakistan of the ancient womb.New Pakistan, however, is nothing if it is not better Pakistan." Khan's words and actions have so well described a double Pakistan – often a contradictory Pakistan.His words are consistent with his beliefs? "
In dozens of interviews since the election, supporters of Khan and his movement for justice in Pakistan expressed a mixture of hopeless hope and rampant skepticism that Khan – or anybody – could purge from Pakistan – corruption that pervades all areas of public life where small bribes speed up driving license applications, large ones allow suspects to get out of jail, and political influence and favors count for much more than the law.
Lots of people , however, have optimistically underlined the recent experience Nte of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan's party ruled for the past five years and swept the legislative competitions on Wednesday. According to an administration headed by his party officials, education and health systems have been improved and, above all, police behavior has shifted from bribery seeking to enforcement. of the law. If Khan succeeds in replicating this achievement at the national level, analysts will say that he would approach any Pakistani government in the space of half a century to realize the vision of its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. – a democrat who sought to build a nation where everyone was treated equally, regardless of religion or other factors.
A businessman from Islamabad described being arrested for lighting a red light while traveling to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recently. He said he told the traffic officer that he had come a long way and offered to pay him a small "fine" on the spot. To his astonishment, he said, the cop gave him a polite smile and replied, "Sir, this is a new Pakistan, here's your ticket."
Some critics pointed out that although Khan fed a picture reformist, anti-establishment, his political team includes some controversial business owners and politicians cut from the traditional Pakistani mold. But others have acknowledged him as the main legal protagonist of a lawsuit against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, accused of hiding family property abroad. , who was sentenced to ten years in prison by the Supreme Court.
"Now, our triple prime minister is in prison, and the credit goes to our leader," said Numan Sheraz, 44, a merchant in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
. Khan gave us voice and awareness about the system and how to fight corruption, "he said." Now, more corrupt politicians and officers will face the demand for accountability.
All that Khan gets, according to analysts, it has already broken a cycle in which two political dynasties have constantly changed power rather than open the political system. to others. Not only did he appeal to the young and the new voters, the results showed, but to the older ones who had become disgusted with the traditional leaders and joined the party of Khan by frustration.
"My family has always voted for the People's Party, and I was the only one to support Imran, now they have all changed too," said Mohammad Sulieman, 25, a taxi driver. "All Pakistanis want the same thing: more jobs, more water, less poverty, less corruption, we want what is good for Pakistan, so we have to support the person who will solve his problems. problems. "
Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar and Shaiq Hussain in Lahore contributed to the report.
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