IT does not matter whether the people who turned up to listen to a potential crowd-puller like Imran Khan on Saturday were many or few. What mattered was the PTI chief’s undeniable success in catching the people’s imagination by articulating their sentiments on a sensitive issue and at the right moment. American drone attacks have created a feeling of revulsion across the country although many believe that they cannot take place without Islamabad’s approval. His speech in Peshawar struck a chord with many people in Pakistan, because nothing has contributed more to the rise of anti-US feelings than the drone attacks, which while killing mostly militants also cause civilians casualties. Imran Khan might not have a very impressive record in terms of his impact on the political scene, but there is no doubt he cashed in rather intelligently on the people’s sentiments to give himself and his party a populist image.The drone strikes involve several key issues, including the question of law and sovereignty, the need for adopting anti-terror tactics acceptable to the two sides, the political fallout of the strikes and, more important, the humanitarian aspect. The feelings generated by what often appear to be indiscreet strikes because of faulty intelligence undermine rather than strengthen the people’s commitment to the war on terror and make things that much more difficult for the government to sell its policy. Islamabad’s line on the drone attacks is manifestly hypocritical: it publicly criticises Washington but tacitly approves what many believe is a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. Regretfully, few of the mainstream political parties have bothered to air the people’s sentiments. These parties have, in fact, looked the other way. For that reason, the PTI chief has proved himself smarter by telling the people what they want to hear — put a stop to the deadly strikes.