LAHORE: ‘Koi puchay to kehna Khan aaya tha’ (If someone asks, tell Khan was here).
These words were once proudly uttered by a federal minister during the peak of the PTI government, as opposition leaders were being sent behind bars.
The statement, originally made by Ali Zaidi, a ‘loyalist’ of Imran Khan came to represent the party’s unapologetic use of state power. Ironically, Zaidi would later be among the first to defect to the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), only to part ways with that outfit as well.
Fast forward to 2025, and the tables have turned. PTI has been in a downward spiral for over two years. Its founding chairman and former Prime Minister IK remains incarcerated. Since the May 9, 2023 riots, the party has been reeling from state repression and legal action. The latest wave of convictions has gutted PTI’s senior leadership, leaving the party rudderless as by-elections loom.
What PTI is enduring today bears a striking resemblance to the treatment it meted out to rivals during its tenure.
Back then, opposition figures like Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Asif Ali Zardari, and Faryal Talpur were arrested under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws. Shehbaz, then Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, and his son Hamza, the same in the Punjab Assembly, were among key political detainees.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot. PTI’s own opposition leaders - Omar Ayub in the National Assembly and Ahmad Khan Bachar in the Punjab Assembly have been convicted. SIC leader Hamid Raza, an ally of PTI and sitting MNA, is also among those sentenced.
Arrest warrants are still active against other PTI leaders. During PTI tenures, two party heads, including PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif and PPP-P head then Asif Ali Zardari were arrested.
PMLN supremo had already been arrested just two weeks before 2018 general elections. Now, interestingly, two party heads, including founding Chairman of PTI and SIC leader Hamid Raza are behind the bars.
Women leaders such as Dr Yasmin Rashid, Zartaj Gul, and Kanwal Shozab have also been convicted.
Just a few years ago while PTI was in power, arrest of PPP sitting MNA and sister of Asif Ali Zardari in June 2019 and arrest of present Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz in August 2019 were widely lauded by PTI founding Chairman’s stalwarts, both on social and mainstream media.
Other PTI figures, including Rai Hassan Nawaz, Bilal Ijaz, Rashid Shafique, and Ahmad Chattha, are facing stiff sentences. Just a few years ago, former Federal and Punjab cabinet members like Rana Sana Ullah Khan, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Miftah Ismael, Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Dr Asim Hussain and even the former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi were nabbed during the PTI tenure.
In another episode related to the twist and turn in events, during PTI’s rule, the party hailed the controversial 2021 Senate chairman election as a political masterstroke. Their candidate Sadiq Sanjrani defeated Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani despite the latter receiving more votes, some of which were rejected for technical reasons.
Presiding Officer Senator Muzaffar Ali Shah declared PTI-backed Sanjrani as winner saying the voting stamp was placed on the candidate’s name, rather than the designated box, thus, nearly half dozen votes of the Opposition candidate were declared in valid.
Today, PTI’s narrative is built on controversial Form 47 slogan but when same thing occurred in Senate while PTI was the beneficiary, it was hailed and lauded by then ruling party.
In just three years, PTI has transitioned from wielding the levers of power to being crushed under them, a stark reversal of fortunes that underscores the cyclical nature of political retribution in Pakistan.
