• PTI’s Hammad Azhar insists his party won Feb 8 polls
• PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal says no institution can fix Pakistan’s problems alone, calls on PTI to be ‘accepting’

LONDON: Whether or not they agree on much else, representatives of major political parties were on the same page at a panel discussion hosted by the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government on post-election realities and the way forward for Pakistan, saying that the coming days would bring uncertainty.

Senior representatives of the PTI and PML-N on Thursday virtually spoke at the panel discussion, which was moderated by Oxford associate professor Adeel Malik and Professor Maya Tudor.

PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal was pressed on questions about the legitimacy of the elections, his party’s relationship with the establishment and the party’s past ‘vote ko izzat do’ slogan as well as the ongoing crackdown against Imran Khan and his party.

Students asked PTI’s Hammad Azhar questions about whether PTI has evolved, and if his party is a cohesive political force.

The panel also briefly featured former PPP leader and ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who cited ongoing protests in Balochistan and Sindh, along with challenges to results in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as indicators of the political turmoil gripping the nation.

“The political uncertainty will subsist, and the path ahead for Pakistan is turbulent,” he said. “The country is just about to complete an IMF bailout programme, and will need a new one close to $6 billion — which will bring with it more back-breaking conditions for the public.”

He said the coalition government formed by the PPP and PML-N would be an “unpopular government which doesn’t have the credibility to be in office”.

Mr Azhar defended his party’s victory in the elections, attributing it to the “resilience of the Pakistani people against repression and fear tactics”. He repeatedly alleged electoral fraud and said “forged results are being normalised”.

“Blackouts and censorship do not work in a modern society. This effort to instill fear in society is not going to work. PTI workers were picked up, jailed, tortured, blacked out from the media, and forced to go into hiding, yet the people of Pakistan did not give into repression,” he said.

Dubbing the polls as a “peaceful revolution”, Mr Azhar insisted his party had won “183 seats in the National Assembly” but the “grim reality was that a piece of fiction was produced after form 47 was forged”.

He stressed that Pakistanis are “losing hope in institutions that represent them”, and named the Election Commission of Pakistan and higher judiciary.

“People are disillusioned with the state and that is dangerous. We need pluralism to function. People are seething with rage already as they face economic challenges.”

Mr Iqbal emphasised that “no one institution can fix Pakistan’s problems”, and that though PTI talks about pluralism, “it is important to be accommodating and accepting”.

“PTI’s mantra is: if you are not with us you are corrupt, you are a traitor. They leave no room or space for another party,” Mr Iqbal said.

“The party blaming the establishment today was the pawn of the establishment in 2017 when it removed Nawaz Sharif from office. For four years it gave the establishment free hand to run the country.”

Mr Iqbal said: “Even when India and Pakistan were at the brink of a war, when the army chief came to brief the oppositon in parliament, Imran Khan refused to sit with the opposition. Even when India annexed Kashmir, he refused to sit with us. This is a problem: they think PTI alone represents patriotism.”

On allegations of rigging, the PML-N leader brushed it off as a “gap between perception and reality” and a “social media victory”, insisting that if the Form 45 are different then they can be challenged in the courts.

The discussion also touched upon the balance of power between civilian and military institutions in Pakistan. While Mr Azhar accused opposition parties of seeking military support despite prior pledges, Mr Khokhar lamented the return of political instability reminiscent of the 1990s.

“Parties who said they won’t look to military for support not only actively sought support, but hoped it will help them win elections,” Mr Khokhar said.

The panelists also highlighted the erosion of trust in public institutions and the electoral process, warning of potential repercussions if the grievances of the Pakistani people are not addressed.

Mr Iqbal urged for respect for the electoral process and condemned the “divisive rhetoric propagated by certain political factions”.

Mr Azhar said that the establishment keeps itself behind a facade or smokescreen and “uses police, uses FIA to do its work”.

“The only way forward is to trust the people of Pakistan to be in charge of their own destiny,” he said, adding: “PTI is acting as a nursery for future leadership. The public sentiment is so strong it is not just a party of the present but also the future. I have seen the resilience and endurance of PTI and seen leaders rise from the grassroots to prominence in the party.”

Mr Iqbal said he “respectfully disagreed” with a student who asked a critical question about the “vote ko izzat do” slogan, and whether it was used to pressure the establishment. He maintained that his party has taken a principled position on upholding the supremacy of the Constitution.

He criticised Imran Khan as a “fascist party leader” and called on his followers to question why he appointed officials like Usman Buzdar and Ali Amin Gandapur.

“So much hate has been instilled in PTI followers, that they start heckling everyone they see.”

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2024