olitics in Pakistan remains mired in controversy with no end in sight to the government-Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf stand-off, casting a dark spell on the polity. Despite the official declarations of economic recovery, anger is writ large on the political landscape reminding us of the famous lines in Homer’s Illiad about singing out anger.

The political crisis took an untoward turn with the unfolding of events late on the evening of November 26. The PTI march to Islamabad led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and former first lady Bushra Bibi ended in clashes with the police, incurring heavy losses in human lives and property. This was yet another spectacle in a series of street agitations mounted by the PTI following the February 8 elections that pointed to the evasive nature of the coveted goal of political stability in the country.

The PTI leadership is tapping into the seething anger at the grassroots level felt by the party supporters. But what are they angry about? What explains the peculiar pattern of heightened emotions and a glorified target followed by tragic scenes of withdrawal from the physical space and charged state of mind to a renewed sense of martyrdom?

The November 24 call to release the PTI’s detained leader Imran Khan was preceded by an aggressive media campaign by the party that created a dual pattern of political dynamics: it mobilised workers on the street on one hand and the relatively inactive leaders aspiring to high moral ground on the other.

The images of a crowd in Peshawar chanting slogans of “al-jihad” led by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister reflected the party’s intent for a hyped up showdown with the federal government at D-Chowk in Islamabad. The march was deemed to be the beginning of the end of incarceration of Imran Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023. Imran’s release as the singular rallying call was a reminder of the party’s slogan of ‘real freedom’ (haqeeqi azadi).

Beyond this instance of street agitation, the PTI has remained the central political actor despite the establishment’s efforts to break the party’s back. The party’s strong performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Punjab in a non-level playing field has morphed into a slice of state power based in Peshawar that has lent a measure of maneuverability to the party.

The PTI supporters are angry about many things. First, they are angry about a ‘stolen mandate’ as the shadow of a controversial election looms large on the political landscape. The party leaders and cadres are also angry about the increasing number of cases filed against Imran and the continued targeting of the party leadership. They are angry about the election tribunal proceedings moving at a snail’s pace. These issues have deepened the discontent among the PTI’s support base. Not surprisingly, they are singing out their anger.

Over the years, the PTI has mastered the art of populist mobilisation under the leadership of Imran Khan. Starting with the 2014 sit-in in Islamabad against the alleged rigging in the 2013 elections to the post April 9, 2022, avalanche of rallies, the PTI has put on a spectacular performance on the streets. This is populist politics at its best. In this context, Imran Khan mirrors several other populists around the globe who draw on people’s sense of resentment and position themselves as the ultimate saviours of a decaying society.

In Pakistan, Imran tapped into the urban middle classes’ sense of alienation from a party system that is dominated by dynastic political parties including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party. There is a large section of the population which feels that its aspirations and anxieties are not represented by them. Like in other instances of populist success in Europe and the US, this has led to a perception of a crisis of representation in the political systems. At one end, non-populist parties all over have failed to keep pace with the changing nature of the new mass society, the rise of new demographics and the populist mastery over contemporary politics. At the other end, from Marion Le Pen to Viktor Orban to Imran Khan, populists have filled the space created by the decline of traditional parties.

What makes these populists so strong?

Populists such as Imran Khan excel at building narratives that seek to provide simple solutions to complex problems of statecraft, governance, economic growth and nation-building. Since its inception in 1996, the PTI has consistently developed a narrative that blames the traditional dynastic parties for all the ills that bedevil the country. Its moralistic interpretation of everyday problems of governance instantly hits a nerve with the middle classes and the Pakistani Diaspora, which is inspired by long-distance nationalism. The latter supported the PTI from early days through generous party funding. The party was not allowed to campaign freely. With restrictions imposed on various social media platforms such as X (formerly, Twitter), the PTI’s message was disseminated by expatriate Pakistanis during the 2024 elections. In 2024, the diaspora engaged at the local level in countries like the UK and the US to get the respective governments to intervene in the domestic politics of Pakistan.

Another success for populist entities like the PTI relates to their ability to master the digital sphere. With the advent of various social media platforms, politics has moved beyond the street into the smart phones and chat websites that are particularly the forte of the young. Pakistan is home to one of the youngest populations in the world with an estimated 64 percent of the population included in the broad youth category. The 2013 elections in Pakistan were the first social media elections. The PTI left all other parties far behind in understanding and mastering social media websites.

Conflict between the PTI and the government has become a zero-sum game. In this battle, the two sides have not been able to hammer out a deal over the last two years. With the judiciary unable to deliver decisions in favour of the PTI as expected by the party, the PTI cadres are losing faith in the system. That has led to agitation as the last resort. Street action is taking place in two types of arenas: in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the party is in power; and in the Punjab and Islamabad, where in the role of the opposition it comes face to face with the might of the state.

Imran Khan’s personal popularity remains high. The party, however, faces internal and external challenges. Internally, there are rifts within the rank and file of the PTI. These differences were laid bare after the sudden end to its ‘final’ march to Islamabad. The role of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi has been a source of conflicting claims and counter claims.

Will the populist wave continue to impact politics in Pakistan? As we approach the end of 2024, will the much-coveted political stability still elude Pakistan? There are no permanent truths in politics. How long will the appeal of populism cast a shadow on politics in Pakistan? As Homer witnessed anger between Agamemnon and Akhilleus in ancient Greece, will we witness the continuation of the conflict in the country? Will the purported move towards negotiations this week bring down political temperatures in the end?

The writer is the director of the political science programme at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. She is the author of In Search of Lost Glory: Sindhi Nationalism in Pakistan (Hurst Publishers, 2021)