The Political Chaos and Prevailing Uncertainty in Pakistan |
The imposition of Governor’s rule in KP undermines the spirit of the 18th constitutional amendment, which granted legislative and financial autonomy to provincial authorities. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s ongoing long march allows it to intensify mobilisation in the province, which may cripple the provincial machinery in the coming days.
Ever since the removal of Imran Khan from office through a No Confidence Motion in April 2022, Pakistan has been witnessing intense bouts of political instability and chaos. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has a long list of grievances against the ‘hybrid’ regime in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, which includes, inter alia, the removal of its leader Imran Khan from office at the behest of a foreign power,[i] targeting of workers and activists, conducting unfair elections and stealing the mandate given by the people to PTI, and wrongfully implicating a number of its leaders, including Imran Khan, in false and fabricated cases of corruption, riots, terrorism, and violation of official secret act.
It has been more than three years since Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, Yasmin Rashid, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and many other leaders have been in jail. The government, on its part, claims that PTI leaders and activists are behind bars because of their unlawful deeds in the past. They are serving their respective prison sentences as awarded by the judiciary following the thorough legal processes. Imran Khan’s incarceration is unprecedented in the sense that no head of any other political party in the past remained in jail consecutively for more than three years. Unlike other politicians, he even refused to go into exile or be confined to his Bani Gala residence when the powers that be reportedly offered him a deal.
Despite being in jail, Imran Khan remains the country’s most popular political leader. In fact, his jail term has massively increased his popularity across the country. His supporters see him as someone who defied all odds and made no compromises, even under adverse circumstances. PTI’s provincial government, with a two-thirds majority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a sensitive province bordering Afghanistan, allows it to remain relevant and sustain its efforts to secure relief for its jailed leaders. Besides, the release of its leaders, one of the biggest bones of contention between the government and PTI, is the lack of flexibility in access to Imran Khan. Because of the hardened stance of the hybrid regime in Islamabad, PTI leadership and family members often find it difficult to meet Imran Khan in jail.
Whenever possible, the PTI leadership uses meetings to discuss key developments and receive broader guidance from Imran Khan. At PTI’s request, the Islamabad High Court directed the Adiala Jail administration in 2025 to allow visitors to meet Imran Khan twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.[ii] However, despite a clear court order, the government often blocks visitors from meeting the jailed leader. Over time, the issue has become one of the most sensitive in the country, around which intense political polarisation is taking place. To address the situation, PTI has adopted a two-pronged strategy. On the one hand, it has been using legal and constitutional remedies available under existing laws and the constitution; on the other, it has been applying constant political and moral pressure on the ruling dispensation and the security establishment.
The Demand for New Units amid Voices of Systemic Collapse
Pakistani society is internally fractured, whereas its polity is deeply polarised and divided over several issues. In recent years, various South Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and India, witnessed varying degrees of youth mobilisation over issues related to corruption, governance and rising unemployment rates. Pakistan’s security establishment knew the internal situation was ripe for such a possibility. Therefore, to divert people’s attention from pressing issues in the country, it facilitated discussions on creating new administrative units. On 30 July 2026, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, speaking at the Pakistan Economic Summit 2026, stirred a political storm by saying Pakistan’s system had collapsed.[iii] He argued for creating new administrative units to provide good governance to the people. Director General Inter Services Public Relations (DGISPR) Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry seconded this, stating at a news conference on 31 July that good governance is essential to Pakistan’s security and stability, without which none of Pakistan’s issues can be resolved.[iv]
Both the PPP and PML-N believe that creating new provinces may adversely affect their political fortunes. Although PML-N did not reject the proposal for obvious reasons, its provincial government in Punjab took initiatives to conduct local government elections. In early August, the Punjab provincial cabinet approved more than PKR 12.52 billion to hold the long-delayed local government elections.[v] Many see the move as an attempt to counter the idea of new administrative units. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah completely dismissed the proposal as a stereotype and unacceptable to the people of Sindh.[vi] The Sindh Assembly then passed a unanimous resolution rejecting any proposal to divide the province or alter its territorial limits.[vii]
PTI’s Call for Protest
PTI leadership has repeatedly complained about the denial of access to Imran Khan amid his deteriorating health condition. In mid-July, the PTI parliamentary party, in a meeting chaired by its Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, decided to launch a nationwide movement from 5 August 2026 to........