Pakistani youth support Imran Khan, overturning traditional politics

But Mr. Khan’s apparent campaign to dismantle his party may have significantly underestimated the generation that followed him online rather than on TV, and that generation already has a population of 240 million people. They are thought to make up about half of all voters in this nuclear-armed country.

On Thursday, millions of young voters rallied behind the party the ruling class says is most determined to rein in. Pakistan’s youth delivered the country’s biggest electoral surprise in half a century, with candidates backed by Mr. Khan winning more seats in parliament than any other party.

Generals are in the spotlight after Pakistan’s shocking election results

“The election results showed one thing: the old strategies no longer work,” said Mohammad Malik, a Pakistani political analyst. He said: “If the military still wants to maintain influence and remain engaged, it will need to adopt different tactics.”

For now, Mr. Khan’s party is unlikely to return to power anytime soon. Despite a performance that far exceeded expectations, it fell short of an absolute parliamentary majority and has no clear coalition partner as it has lost support from the political establishment.

As expected, three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party announced on Tuesday that it would form a government with support from the Pakistan People’s Party and smaller parties with tacit approval from the establishment.

Sharif will hand over the prime ministership to his brother Shehbaz, who was leading a fragile coalition government after Khan was ousted in parliament in April 2022. However, some analysts are already predicting the end of the new government even before it is formed.

Mr. Khan’s political party, the Movement for Justice (known as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI), has, as it has almost every time in the past few weeks, found a way to counter the seemingly stacked odds. Ta.

When authorities banned the party’s recognizable cricket bat symbol, which many illiterate voters relied on to identify the party on their ballots, Mr. Khan’s candidacy became a new target for rural voters. They used TikTok to promote the symbol. And despite being in prison, Mr Khan himself gave a victory speech on Friday in an artificial intelligence-generated video, telling his supporters: “You have laid the foundations of true freedom.” he said, surprising those around him.

Malik said the PTI camp had struck a nerve with young, digitally savvy voters by putting them at the center of its message, but Khan’s main political rivals were wary of the magnitude of the generational challenges in this election. He said he couldn’t understand it.

When Sharif, another former Pakistani leader who had clashed with the military, appeared to have reconciled with the military and returned from self-imposed exile in October, his speeches were all “about him, not about young people.” said Malick.

PTI spokesperson Zulfi Bukhari said in an interview that a preliminary analysis of voter profiles suggested that Khan’s party’s strategy had worked. “A whole new population grew and they all voted for him, the PTI.”

Some of the reasons for dissatisfaction among Pakistan’s youth could fade if conditions change. Many are tired of economic uncertainty and stagnation, which they blame on corruption and family dynasties like the Sharif family, which have dominated Pakistan’s politics for decades.

But never have these sentiments been expressed more cynically and publicly than on Pakistani social media in recent days, giving a lasting impression of the delicate balance between civilian leadership and Pakistan’s powerful military. It can be distorted in shape.

“They are making fun of our country, so we are making fun of them,” said Uzair Chowdhury, 19, a mobile phone vendor in Islamabad who voted for PTI.

Generals are in the spotlight after Pakistan’s shocking election results

In one potential sign of how the establishment may revolt in the digital space, mobile internet was abruptly shut down nationwide as voters began heading to the polls on Thursday, making voting difficult. It remained disconnected for a long time after the deadline. Mr. Khan’s supporters suspect this was part of an effort to mobilize voters and derail his party’s plans to document allegations of election fraud, but Pakistani authorities believe it was a terrorist attack using the mobile internet. The closure is justified by the risk of attack.

Pakistan’s military leadership has repeatedly denied allegations of repression against the PTI, insisting that the group is not involved in Pakistani politics.

There were early signs that the Internet could cause problems for Pakistan’s establishment. After Khan was ousted by parliament in April 2022, his party’s supporters immediately took to social media to denounce the ouster, which they viewed as orchestrated by Pakistan’s military and the United States.

Dozens of social media users were arrested after a campaign launched by Khan’s party spread anti-military and anti-American posts online, officials said at the time.

Pakistani officials also blamed social media for contributing to nationwide riots by Khan’s supporters in May after his arrest. The Pakistani government likened the riot to the attack on the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

Establishment concerns about the influence of social media appear to be growing in the run-up to the election. Pakistan’s military commander Asim Munir did not directly criticize the PTI in December, but he blamed it for creating an “atmosphere of anxiety, despair and confusion on social media,” state television reported. .

However, the PTI and its supporters argue that the internet is not a threat and has the potential to better inform political discourse in Pakistan. Jibran Ilyas, who helps lead PTI’s social media activities, said TikTok is playing a big role in mobilizing youth, especially in rural areas. Through TikTok, the party was able to reach millions of illiterate voters who don’t use Facebook or other text-heavy platforms.

Asim Amin, 22, who lives in rural northwestern Pakistan, said TikTok opened his eyes about Mr. Khan in the run-up to the election. Although jailed candidates could not campaign directly, Mr. Amin followed the party’s videos on health and the economy.

“Mr. Khan is the true leader of this country,” he said.

Political analyst Malik said last week’s election results suggest that Pakistan’s political parties will have to work harder to win votes in the future. “This is the first election where the voters actually wanted the candidates, rather than the candidates asking the voters.”