Angry Young Pakistanis Give Imran Khan a Future Shot at Power

An exclusive preview on this week's essential reads [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [ARGUMENT]( [Angry Young Pakistanis Give Imran Khan a Future Shot at Power]( The jailed politician still stirs national pride. Supporters of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party block the Quetta-Chaman highway as they protest against the alleged skewing of Pakistan’s national election results in Quetta on Feb. 12. Banaras Khan/AFP via Getty Images By Omar Waraich, a writer, journalist and human rights advocate. Immured in his prison cell, Pakistani politician Imran Khan could scarcely have hoped for a better result. Just days before the country’s Feb. 8 election, the cricket legend-turned-populist politician was [sentenced]( to more than a decade behind bars in three trumped-up cases. His party was stripped of its signature [cricket bat symbol]( by the Election Commission, denying voters the chance to identify the party on ballot papers—a critical aspect of voting in a country where 40 percent of people are illiterate—and forcing its candidates to run as independents. Its members were beaten, imprisoned, and driven into rival parties or out of politics altogether. On polling day, cell phone signals [vanished](, and internet access was choked. After the votes were cast, there were [widespread allegations]( that many were stolen overnight, reversing unassailable leads. And yet, despite every effort to thwart them, Khan’s supporters recorded the highest number of votes and clinched the largest number of seats. Independent candidates affiliated with Khan’s party, who took 93 out of a total of 295 national seats and won one province outright, were denied the majority that they insist they won and may be excluded from government, but the vote represents a momentous development. A new generation of voters has emerged—concentrated in Pakistan’s heaving towns and cities—who now demand a break with history. These voters want to have the power to choose their own leaders, not leave the country in the hands of the powerful military that has maintained a granitic grip on politics for most of its history. When Khan fell out with the generals that brought him to power and was ousted from office in April 2022, his young supporters mounted vast, sometimes violent protests. Despite a vicious crackdown over the next two years, they persevered and demonstrated their defiance in the only way left to them: through a peaceful, democratic vote. [CONTINUE READING](   The world, at your fingertips. [Save up to 50% on annual plans.](   Discover more from FP [A wax likeness of Austrian founder of the psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud sits in Berlin's Madame Tussaud's wax museum, during a press preview of the museum on July 3, 2008. ]( [The Neurotic Fixations of U.S. Foreign Policy]( A close look at several ruts that American policymakers are currently stuck in. By Stephen M. Walt [The Problem With Public-Private Partnerships in AI]( Companies first need to do a better job of demonstrating the technology’s societal benefits. By Amba Kak, Sarah Myers West [An aerial view shows the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a sea route connecting the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, on Oct. 22, 2022.]( [The Houthis’ Next Target May Be Underwater]( Cutting or damaging subsea cables could disrupt data and financial communications between Europe and Asia. By Keith Johnson [Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Donald Trump meet in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. ]( [Why China Is Rooting for Trump]( Beijing’s long game would be much better served by the candidate’s policies and the divisions he would unleash. By Agathe Demarais [The Neurotic Fixations of U.S. Foreign Policy]( A close look at several ruts that American policymakers are currently stuck in. By Stephen M. Walt [The Problem With Public-Private Partnerships in AI]( Companies first need to do a better job of demonstrating the technology’s societal benefits. By Amba Kak, Sarah Myers West [The Houthis’ Next Target May Be Underwater]( Cutting or damaging subsea cables could disrupt data and financial communications between Europe and Asia. By Keith Johnson [Why China Is Rooting for Trump]( Beijing’s long game would be much better served by the candidate’s policies and the divisions he would unleash. By Agathe Demarais [Subscribe to Foreign Policy]( [Save up to 50%]( [Choosing an annual plan for your FP subscription allows you to save up to 50%. For nuanced perspectives and insightful geopolitical analysis, subscribe today.]( [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( Want to receive FP newsletters? [Manage]( your FP newsletter preferences. [MANAGE YOUR EMAIL PREFERENCES]( | [VIEW OUR PRIVACY POLICY]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Reach the [right online audience]( with us. [Foreign Policy]( is a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents © 2023 Graham Digital Holding Company LLC. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 655 15th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20005.