The myth of Imran Khan only survives because people never examine his actual record or qualifications. Strip away the slogans and the manufactured hero image, and what remains is a man who was never intellectually equipped to lead a complex nuclear state.
For over 20 years, he refused to build a team, avoided specialists, and surrounded himself with sycophants. Whenever an actual expert joined PTI, they left within months. His economic team collapsed because he did not understand the policies they were proposing. His own finance minister said repeatedly that Imran had no grasp of economics.
His governance proves the point even more. Under his rule, circular debt doubled, tax reforms died, exports stagnated again after the temporary global spike, and Pakistan returned to the IMF because he froze fuel prices for political optics. He attacked every institution that did not praise him, from the judiciary to the ECP. No serious leader behaves like that.
Most importantly, the entire “IK is independent and visionary” narrative collapses when you remember how he came into power. He was manufactured, supported, protected and presented as a messiah by the same system his fans now blame. The project collapsed not because of conspiracy but because the product was weak.
The truth is simple. Some elements of the establishment miscalculated. They underestimated the damage an unprepared, impulsive, poorly informed leader could cause. Pakistan paid the price in political polarization, economic instability, and international isolation.
People glorify him because they confuse confidence with competence, speeches with strategy, and celebrity with leadership. Once you remove the emotional attachment, his shortcomings become obvious.
