On 10th April 2022, at midnight,  the coalition of opposition parties, the Pakistan Democratic Movement(PDM) was successful in passing a no-confidence motion in the Pakistan National Assembly, ousting Imran Khan as the Prime Minister. This put an end to the month-long political turmoil and the resultant constitutional crisis, as Khan and his government tried to resist this motion(1).

The PDM, formed in September 2022, consisting of 11 political parties, including the two major but historically rival PML-N and PPP, with its no confidence motion has seemingly given birth to yet another destructive political confrontation. With that it has paradoxically enabled Khan to gain more support from the public.

During its tenure the Khan government, which had previously underestimated the challenges of governance, took many missteps and hence failed to handle the economy successfully(2). With a spiraling rupee and double digit inflation, Khan crippled his own popularity(3), as his supporters found him no better than those who came before him and the common man struggled to make ends meet.

It looked like to many that  the PTI was well on its way to a political downfall until the PDM came with its no-confidence motion and saved Khan. With the political elite all together against him, Khan found his ‘cornered tiger narrative’(3) and propelled it with his regime change conspiracy. His mostly young supporters, seeing PTI with no allies, increasingly bought into it(6) and Khan’s  political power only increased.

On the other hand, the PDM government ironically faces decreasing support as the public grapples with soaring inflation and a natural catastrophe. This is mainly because the coalition government has been reluctant to make hard decisions, which are the real cure for the economy, as they are not here for a long time period. PDM also doesn’t have the mandate to engage in structural reforms. This further highlights the paradox: why pursue a vote of no confidence against Imran Khan, knowing this, while arguing that PDM is needed to save the economy(4).

Now, with Imran Khan threatening to rally his charged supporters, emotional after the assassination attempt on him and in immense numbers, to Islamabad, the country, that had ⅓ of its land drowned in the monsoon, is facing yet another period of political uncertainty, with polarisation at an all time high(5).

References:

1. Anadolu Agency, Islamuddin Sajid and Aamir Latif, 9/4/22 aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/pakistani-pm-imran-khan-ousted-in-parliament-no-confidence-vote/
2. The Express Tribune tribune.com.pk/story/2351972/imran-left-pm-office-with-a-mixed-record
3. The Tribune, Zeeshan Ahmadtribune.com.pk/story/2373611/imran-khan-and-the-unfolding-political-paradox
4. The Express Tribune, M Bilal Lakhani, September 04 2022 tribune.com.pk/story/2374651/beyond-the-imf-whats-pdms-economic-plan
5. Paradigm Shift, Hamra Tariq paradigmshift.com.pk/polarization-in-pakistan/
6. Gallup Pakistan gallup.com.pk/post/33357