The role of the political leaders whether in the government or the opposition is to unite the na­tion and make sincere efforts to pro­mote the well-being of the people, strengthen the state edifice, and refrain from doing any­thing that hurts the state in­terests, irrespective of their different views and strategies regarding how to do justice with their mandated and oblig­atory responsibilities. The foregoing constitutes a touchstone for fathoming their patriotic credentials.

Pakistan unfortunately has not been so lucky in this regard. It has not found any politician who fits the criteria of a genuine political leader. Most of them have focused on their own narrow po­litical agendas and serving their vest­ed interests. However, Imran Khan has exceeded all of them in using all kinds of machinations to have his way. He did this to the extent of committing anti-state acts and dividing the nation be­sides introducing a culture of violence and impudence in Pakistani politics.

An anti-state act is defined as a stance or action by someone that is character­ized by or expresses opposition or hos­tility towards the state.

The letter written to IMF under the signatures of Raoof Hasan Informa­tion Secretary of PTI with the approv­al of Imran Khan asking it not to en­gage with the new government for any future bail-out package is a clas­sic example of an anti-state stance of PTI. It was contended in the letter that the government was not a true repre­sentative of the people because it had come into being as a result of unprec­edented fraud in the compilation of election results. It was also reiterat­ed in the letter that the IMF must ful­fill its guidelines regarding good gov­ernance in the country asking for the financial facility and must ensure au­dit of at least 30% of the national and provincial seats before the grant of fi­nance facility that is to burden the people of Pakistan. It demanded au­dit through indigenous organizations namely Free and Fair Election Net­work (FAFEN) and PATTAN-Coalition 38 to the satisfaction of all stakehold­ers. The letter concluded that such a role by the IMF would be a great ser­vice to Pakistan and its people and could become the harbinger of endur­ing prosperity, growth, and macroeco­nomic stability in the country.

As is evident, through this letter Im­ran Khan sought the intervention of an international agency in the political affairs of the country even though in­stitutional and legal forums are avail­able within the country to have any complaints against irregularities or al­leged fraud in the elections probed. It is simply an unacceptable indiscretion by PTI. Since it had urged the IMF not to extend further financial assistance to Pakistan it constituted an anti-state act. The loan is not to be given to any political party but to the state of Pak­istan which at the moment needs to stem the rot in its economy.

It may be recalled that the PTI chief minister in KPK Taimur Jhagra had also written a similar letter to the IMF in August 2022 just three days before the IMF executive board was to discuss the provision of credit to Pakistan in which the agency was in­formed that the province would not be able to meet the agreed upon budget surplus. It was clearly a move to sabo­tage that agreement.

It is however heartening to note that the IMF has given a could-shoulder re­sponse to PTI’s letter regarding audit of elections and said” The IMF as an in­ternational institution with a narrow mandate of economic issues does not comment on domestic political devel­opments. It looks forward to engaging with Pakistan to complete the second review under the ongoing Stand by Ar­rangement and support the develop­ment of a new medium-term econom­ic program if the government requests it.” The IMF has rightly snubbed PTI and its chairman who pursues such an­tics unscrupulously.

The party unfortunately has a track record of committing anti-state acts, maligning state institutions, and seek­ing foreign intervention in the inter­nal affairs of the country. In the back­drop of the 9th May incidents when the state was making arrests of all those involved in them, the PTI un­leashed a sustained campaign to propagate about alleged abuse of hu­man rights and sought foreign inter­vention to stop it.

Imran had been involved in discus­sions with several representatives of California including Ted Lieu, Eric Swalwell, Brad Sherman, and Mike Lev­en. Representative Sherman composed a letter to US Secretary of State Anto­ny Blinken in which he expressed ap­prehensions regarding infringement upon human rights, and the rule of law in Pakistan.

Reportedly PTI’s US chapter cam­paigned for linking Washington’s mil­itary aid to Pakistan to the human rights situation. It lobbied with US congressman Greg Casar who pledged with them that he was co-sponsoring a bill linking military aid to human rights conditions in the country.

It is pertinent to point out that a cam­paign by the Pakistani-American Po­litical Action Committee (PAKPAC) also led to more US Congressmen ap­proaching US Secretary Antony Blink­en to pressurize Pakistan government to improve human rights situation in the country. A rally organized by PTI outside the White House also appealed to President Biden to refrain from en­gaging with Pakistan. These are irrefut­able realities to highlight anti-state ac­tivities of the party.

The party also has devious creden­tials in regards to achieving its polit­ical agenda. The most recent exam­ple is the bombshell which the party dropped by extracting a statement from ex-commissioner Rawalpindi re­garding rigging done in the Rawalpindi Division endorsing PTI’s claim in this regard. The scam did not last long as the commissioner retracted from his earlier statement and unraveled the facts about the episode. He said that he had done it at the behest of a PTI lead­er with whom he had developed rela­tions who told him that he would be given a very lucrative assignment after his retirement and the plan had the ap­proval of the senior leadership of the party. It really stinks.

Imran Khan undoubtedly has con­siderable following in the country though for all the wrong reasons as has been proven during the 2024 gen­eral elections. His party has been able to make dent in the domain of oth­er major political parties. It is, there­fore, advisable for the party to accept the split mandate given by the people and contribute its bit in strengthen­ing democracy and state institutions to winch the country out of the quag­mire it is stuck into. If it has any griev­ances regarding rigging in the elec­tions it should approach the proper forums responsible for addressing the issue instead of seeking intervention of the foreign countries and interna­tional agencies in the internal affairs of the country.

As far the cases against Imran Khan and his conviction in three of them the party must have faith in the judi­ciary like the PML (N) and PPP lead­ers who were incarcerated during PTI rule and finally acquitted having been found innocent.

Malik Muhammad Ashraf
The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at ashpak10@gmail.com