Stooge, thief, robber, rat, insane, diesel, donkey, mule – the list is endless, and, sadly, continues to grow. These are just some of the terms being used in political rhetoric in Pakistan these days. Politicians, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, are engaged in intense name-calling amid a fast-brewing political crisis that aims to dislodge the prime minister through a vote of no confidence in the coming days.

Ahead of the no-confidence vote against Khan sought by the joint opposition, the prime minister himself is seen indulging in the use of slurs and an offensive tone targetting key political opponents in his recent public addresses. Opposition leaders are also not letting go of any opportunity to target him and his close cabinet colleagues while building a rhetoric holding the ruling party responsible for the current political hostility.

The history of such political rhetoric dates back to the early 1970s when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto started name-calling his political opponents, and the opposition leaders reacted to it.

In the 1990s, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), started using insulting, demeaning and abusive language against Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party. Nasty campaigns were also run by political parties against presidents, including Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari. However, a level of sanity prevailed following the signing of the Charter of Democracy by major political parties in 2006. They agreed, among other things, to promote decency and uphold moral values in the course of politics in the country.

“Although such political rhetoric started in the 1970s and continued on and off, this time it is mainly a ruling party and its leader – Imran Khan – who are employing an aggressive tone and setting a dangerous precedent,” says Tahir Khalil, an Islamabad-based senior political correspondent. “This trend has had a very negative impact at the grassroots level by promoting intolerance,” he says. “If party leaders use such slurs against one another, one can easily imagine that the only way party workers and activists will communicate is through greater aggression.”

“Political polarisation was at its peak during the 1970s, when Bhutto used to call his political opponents chooha and aalu. The crowds would laugh at this ridiculing of senior political figures,” says Ahmed Bilal Mehboob of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

“Bhutto was a great and an intelligent leader but his crude language brought his opponents together and united them against him,” he says. “Ultimately, all his opponents joined hands and managed to eliminate him.”

Mehboob believes that Bhutto’s constant use of slurs against politicians contributed to his downfall. Later, he says, the PML-N and the PPP also went down the same road. Though, he adds, they later realised the error of their ways and entered the Charter of Democracy.

In recent years, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its leader Imran Khan have been blamed for initiating, once again, the use of abusive and crude language against their opponents in public speeches and on social media. Khan’s aggressive posturing and excessive language are being followed by many of his cabinet members. This is not limited to their political opponents either; sometimes institutions like the Election Commission of Pakistan are the target.

In the past, such crude language was limited to public speeches. Now, the use of social media appears to have multiplied its effect. The tone is not limited to Khan’s domestic opponents. It is also being used to address international players and has affected formal diplomacy.

Dr Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, the director of the School of Politics and International Relations Quaid-i-Azam University, says that democracy not only requires certain institutions but also ideational framework, which is based on certain cultural values such as dignity, self-respect, tolerance and the ability among politicians to concede defeat.

“When leaders start name-calling and accusing the opposition of being ‘anti-national’, it creates a narrative that is injurious for a healthy political and democratic environment,” he says. “Not just in Pakistan but in other countries as well, populist politics is invoked by leaders by exploiting public frustrations and radically criticising others. One of its major impacts is creating negativity in the minds of people and making them lose faith in political leaders,” he says.

Many political commentators fear that this aggressive tone and the ensuing polarisation may cause instability and further harm the democracy.

“Imran Khan, who is one of the most popular leaders these days, should start healing and correcting this political process. He must recognise that he has had a legacy of being a national hero and a philanthropist besides being a popular political leader,” Mehboob suggests.

“Extremism in politics is very dangerous for democracy. A serious review is needed. There is a need to sign a new charter to promote decency and morality in political rhetoric. The initiative for a positive democratic attitude has to be taken by the government,” adds Khalil.

The writer is a staff reporter. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com. He tweets at @waqargillani