he Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has been shifting its political strategy after the ouster of its government in Islamabad.

PTI chairman Imran Khan has already led a long march to Islamabad. After calling off the sit-in protest, he had announced a return to the capital in six days. However, the decision was delayed. Instead, his party filed a petition before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, seeking the court’s protection to ensure that the government can use no coercive measures to stop a march called by him. However, the petition was returned by the registrar’s office with certain objections. Afterwards an amended petition was refiled. However, proceedings on the petition have not started so far.

Before his long march, Khan had moved to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa where the PTI runs the provincial government. His deputy, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who could arguably have mobilised thousands of his followers from Multan and Ghotki took shelter in Peshawar. Other PTI leaders from the Punjab like Usman Dar, who also heads the PTI’s youth wing, Shahbaz Gill and Zartaj Gul Wazir were also in Peshawar. Shafqat Mehmood, Hammad Azhar, Dr Yasmeen Rashid and Andleeb Abbas were among the few people visible in the Punjab.

Before the long march, Khan had announced that he would stay in Islamabad along with his supporters till the government announced a firm date for general elections. However, after reaching Islamabad, he called off the march and returned to KP. His supporters have been perturbed over Khan’s decision to go to Peshawar. Some of them believe that his decision may have been motivated by the fear that can be arrested if he stays in Bani Gala.

Khan and his close aides, including the KP chief minister, have obtained interim bails in cases registered against them. When Khan moved briefly to Bani Gala security was beefed up by the federal government, his party and the KP government.

On Thursday, the PTI chief again urged the people of Pakistan to take to the streets on his call which he said would be given soon. The delay in his call for the march indicates that he is trying to come up with a strong strategy against the coalition government. He has been lashing out against the leaders of the ruling alliance in his political rallies.

According to PTI insiders, Khan wants a deal with the establishment to press the current government to announce early elections for the National Assembly. At the same time, he is picking candidates for the upcoming by-elections for the 20 seats of Punjab Assembly that became vacant after PTI members were de-seated by the Election Commission of Pakistan under Article 63-A. “We have not received any positive response from the establishment but there is still hope,” a PTI leader says.

On Thursday, the PTI chief again urged the people of Pakistan to take to the streets on his call which he said would be given soon. The delay in his call for the march indicates that he is trying to come up with a strong strategy against the coalition government. He has been lashing out against the leaders of the ruling alliance in his political rallies. He has called his opponents traitors, US agents, corrupt, robbers and thieves. The main thrust of his strategy has been to convince the people that his party stands for a more independent foreign policy.

Khan, who started his premiership with a narrative revolving around the alleged corruption of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leaders, continued with the narrative apparently to divert the people’s attention from poor governance under his leadership. When he realised that this narrative was no longer as effective, he started talking about an Islamic welfare state. However, a worsening economy undermined his popularity. The opposition then decided to remove him through a no trust motion. Once he sensed that he was unable to prevent the united opposition and that some of his erstwhile allies had joined them, he started calling the no-confidence motion against him a foreign conspiracy.

The PTI’s recent long march has exposed the weakness of the party’s claims of enduring popularity in the Punjab. Khan’s bid to motivate people by claiming that his movement is a struggle against ‘slavery’ is yet another maneuver.

Many PTI MNAs and MPAs are not satisfied with the way the strategy has been shaping.

According to another PTI insider: “Khan looks exhausted but he does not want to give up because he believes that if elections are held before November, he can become the prime minister yet again. If elections are not held early and the present government continues till November, he feels, his political future might be uncertain.”

The writer is a senior   journalist, teacher of   journalism, and analyst.   He tweets at @BukhariMubasher