As per Islam there is absolutely nothing wrong with Fauj controling politics as evident by its 1400 years of history. The reason why I brought Islam is because PTI seems to be conveniently using it for its politics. They have successfully created false image of IK as divine guided and a promised missahiya who will eradicate poverty in Pakistan and establish Riyasat e Medina if he is freed and given ultimate authority. Majority of his supporters are still conservative Muslims however his overseas supporters are mostly pro secular.
Fauj does seem to have a dilemma that almost every other Frankenstein politician they create seems to bite them in the 2ss at some point. Who knows IK may come out as Shabaz 2.0 after software update.
Ok this profile at most qualifies for a humanitarian ambassador but not a politician or a leader of nation with complex geopolitics. In that case, it would have been a foolish idea if Edhi had run for politics just because he had done wonderful job of taking care of the needy. Thats why this public mandate has no concept in Islam.
I dont think there will ever be a more popular political party like PTI that used deceitful ideological tactics to gain awam sympathy votes. Fauj is well aware of that and it has learned its lesson and would prefer weaker figures whose popularity does not exceed beyond its local region thus easier to control.
My biggest issue with this argument is the contradiction.
We’re told PTI is artificially popular, Imran Khan is a Frankenstein politician created by the establishment, and his supporters are brainwashed. But if PTI was nothing more than a political illusion, why was so much effort needed to contain it?
Its leaders were pressured to leave, workers arrested, media coverage restricted, candidates faced obstacles, and even its famous cricket bat election symbol was taken away.
That’s like calling a cricket team useless while confiscating its bats, removing half its players, changing the rules, and then celebrating the victory!
The Frankenstein argument is equally amusing. Apparently, the establishment creates politicians, but when one develops an independent following, he suddenly becomes a monster. At some point, shouldn’t the scientists review their own experiments?
I’m not claiming Imran Khan is perfect or that PTI supporters never take their admiration too far. But dismissing millions of voters as brainwashed is easier than asking why they continue supporting him despite all the obstacles.
My bigger question goes beyond PTI.
If the establishment decides who can rise, which candidates can compete, which parties are acceptable, and even whose election symbol survives, then what exactly are we calling democracy?
You can’t celebrate democracy when people vote for your preferred candidate and dismiss it when they choose someone else.
And the argument that PTI became too popular, so future politicians should be less popular and easier to control, is particularly revealing. That’s not political wisdom; that’s an admission of insecurity.
Either the public mandate matters, or it doesn’t. If it matters, people must be allowed to choose their leaders, even when powerful people dislike their choice.
Otherwise, let’s stop calling it democracy. It’s political theatre with an expensive production budget and a winner apparently selected before the show begins.
And here’s the final irony, if PTI’s popularity depended entirely on its cricket bat symbol, why did supporters continue looking for its candidates after the symbol was taken away?
Maybe the support was never really about the bat.
If the referee can pick the players, change the rules, confiscate the equipment, and influence the scoreboard, don’t blame the crowd for questioning whether it’s a real match.
