Without moving his bat an inch, Imran Khan hit a ton on a rough political pitch. The electoral score of Khan’s PTI backed candidates blindsided political analysts and Pakistani establishment alike. The independent candidates backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek – e- Insaaf (PTI) topped the list followed by PML-N and then the Pakistan People’s Party ( PPP).

The developments which unravelled in the lead up to the elections had left little or no hope for a free and fair election. The establishment pulled out all the stops to disturb the level playing field. From decimating Khan’s PTI to petrifying the candidates associated with the party and voters, the state tried every trick in the book to ensure victory for the jailed leader’s opponents.

However, the voters refused to be cowed by those wielding power and relayed a rather different message through the ballot papers on February 8. The youth, making up 65 percent of the population, played a crucial role in the polls.

There is no gainsaying to the fact that the people of Pakistan are fed up to the back teeth by the unnecessary meddling of the army in the political establishment. For decades, the country has remained in military grip which essentially dictates its foreign policy.

The famous quote about Prussia that it was not a country with an army but an army with a country is sometimes rightfully invoked to describe Pakistani army’s interference in the country’s political establishment.

The political elites too over the years have fallen short in their efforts to extricate the country from the political economy and lay the foundation for robust institutions. The entrenched corruption continues to permeate in different sectors of the society with institutional autonomy remaining elusive.

Khan, who himself was kept off the ballot, was able to strike a chord with the voters who had been unhappy with the old political order in 2018.

The celebrity cricketer was seen as someone who could do away with corruption and build a new Pakistan as he had promised during general elections. The fact, however, remains that he too failed to take the country out of economic instability.

He was accused by his opponents of mishandling the economy. There is no doubt that the inflation during his tenure shot up significantly and the country was burdened by overwhelming debts, impacting its growth prospects. The civil liberties were curtailed and the journalists were browbeaten into submission.

Those who exhibited the temerity to criticise Khan were sent to jail or made to hang up their boots. Even some of them were subjected to enforced disappearances. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ( PEMRA ) imposed fines or withdrew advertisements from the publications the government believed were critical of it.

However, despite all these suppressive measures, Khan was able to garner support and public sympathy due to the mistreatment he faced by the nation’s security establishment. The frivolous charges that led to his imprisonment significantly contributed to his popularity.

Both Khan and his opponents have their own sordid political stories, but the role played by the establishment to deny Khan his due only adds another dark chapter to the troubled electoral history of Pakistan.