PPP workers carry flags and banners during a rally | AFP
After 1990, Nawaz Sharif began to carve an independent identity from IJI. He changed his election symbol to the ‘sher’, which became associated with him and was heavily used in slogans and campaign imagery in all the following elections since. Never mind that the animal is native to Bengal and not Punjab, it symbolised masculine strength, power and flamboyance — and is also a term of endearment (“Sher humara”). Later, as Nawaz would campaign across Punjab in 1993, large crowds gathered to greet him, chanting: “Qadam barhao Nawaz Sharif, hum tumharay saath hain.”
The 1990s witnessed a near-constant battle for power between Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. The two (seemingly) represented opposing dichotomies: left-wing versus right-wing politics, socialism versus capitalism, feminine versus masculine. But in 1996, a new party emerged, one that argued that both PMLN and PPP were one and the same: corruption was perceived to be endemic to politics.
In his first speech to the public, in front of small crowd in Lahore on June 11, 1996, a visibly nervous Imran Khan would apologise repeatedly for his sore throat, let out an embarrassed laugh and timidly request silence each time supporters shouted “Jeevay jeevay Imran Khan” and “Qadam barhao Imran Khan”. The PTI founder began his campaigning with the promise of delivering “insaaf” (justice), “ehtesaab” (accountability), and ridding the country of “corruption”. It would take another 12 or more years before he would finally be taken seriously. In the meanwhile, however, another military dictator – General Pervez Musharraf – launched a coup in 1999. Two years later, the Twin Towers fell in the United States, and Pakistan entered yet another war in Afghanistan.
2008
With Benazir’s assassination in 2007, the music stopped — for a while. Pakistan was gripped with terrorism: 25 bombings claiming hundreds of lives took place in just the four months between Benazir’s arrival and the day of the elections. Music that was played was mournful, such as Bhutto ki beti ai thi”. There was a pervading anger and anti-establishment sentiment. Her husband Asif Ali Zardari was able to quell some of it, particularly in Sindh, with the following words: “Pakistan Khappay”.
Nawaz Sharif also returned to Pakistan from exile in Saudi Arabia. Now a completely different party, in both temperament and ideological leanings, PMLN took jabs at the military general. Naveed, a lawyer who has supported PMLN since that point – “when the party changed its narrative from right-wing to centre-right” – says he appreciated Nawaz Sharif’s newfound “anti-establishment stance”, with the formation of the All Pakistan Democratic Movement and support for the Lawyers’ Movement. “It’s true that he exploited religious and communal sentiment in the past, but he did a lot for Punjab as well,” claims Naveed.
2013 – 2018
Two massive rallies in Lahore and in Karachi announced the arrival of Imran Khan as a serious contender in politics in 2011 — with the promise of “tabdeeli”. The Pakistan that this ‘repackaged’ PTI was able to draw huge crowds in was a land of contradictions, with muddled ideologies. This allowed him to appeal to an assortment of people. There was the apolitical middle class that benefited from privatisation of the education and economy in the 1990s and 2000s; it had little interaction or expectations from the state apparatus. There were overseas Pakistanis who had been exposed to systems that worked. There were the conservatives and nationalists that were drawn to his religious and anti-West stance.
And many were very young, connected through social media and cell phones. In 2013, figures released by the Election Commission of Pakistan showed that nearly half of the 84 million registered voters – 47.8 per cent – were aged between 18 and 35. Part of the repackaging were large rallies that resembled concerts, with an assigned DJ — something not missed by detractors (though later imitated, too). Countless songs have been composed for PTI since, but perhaps the one that really took hold was “Naya Pakistan”.
This generation – crudely, millennials – that grew up idolising Imran Khan as a national sporting legend and successful philanthropist were of voting age around the time of the 2013 elections. This generation did not grow up with the Bhuttos or Sharifs. They were not aware of the early struggles or history of each party, only their failures when they looked around them. Their concerns weren’t “Roti, kapra aur makaan” – they already had these – but “gas, bijli aur paani ki pareshani”.
Maria, a Phd student from Peshawar, says she was in primary school when she started ‘supporting’ Imran Khan: she raised the highest amount of funds for his cancer hospital in her school. “I thought he was an honest person, but I wasn’t interested in politics. My group of friends was more interested in fashion. This changed with the 2013 elections.”
If Bhutto stirred the consciousness of the poor, Imran Khan seemed to have done the same for the privileged. Those who were cynical or apathetic or fed up with the ‘old’ ways saw someone who was ‘clean’ (“saaf chali, shafaaf chali, Tehreek-e-Insaf chali”), and politically untested — so offered reason for hope
Naseem, a doctor from Peshawar, says, “I was disappointed with the democratic system in the country, and the two parties that were taking turns ruling. I believed Imran Khan was an honest person and his core group will make policies that will control corruption and put the country on the right path.” She had voted just once before 2013, during Musharaf’s referendum. “It’s not that I want the army to rule the country, but a benevolent dictator is better than a sham democracy.”
Imran Khan could slip between various identities with ease: one of them being highlighting his Pakhtun ancestry. Astham, a driver from Battagram who came to Karachi for work in 1997, says he was never interested in politics before, and had only once voted in his village in 2008 for a PMLQ candidate. “We just vote for the nawab/khan of our area. So I did what everyone else was doing, what was expected of me.” What appealed to him about Imran Khan was his autonomous stance, whether against the status quo or foreign powers. “Whether it’s America or any other country, we’ll be friends but not slaves. All Pakistanis are nationalist, but Pakhtuns in particular do not bow in front of anyone.”
Perhaps inspired by PTI’s success in utilising catchy songs as effective propaganda tools, and recognising the young vote bank, other parties also released a number of new tracks in 2013. PMLN had the upbeat Dekho dekho kaun aya, sher aya, sher aya and Mian de naray, sung to the tune of Jugni. In 2018, however, the confident, flamboyant sher imagery took a backseat to a more sombre implore: Vote ko izzat do.
PPP continued to rely heavily on old songs and slogans with a few new ones. Despite being seen as unpopular, Zardari has a song celebrating his political prowess (Khatron ka Khilari), which subverts the insult: "Aik Zardari sab pe bhaari”. There are songs written specifically for Bilawal, though none have matched the popularity of the earlier slogans. In fact, most of these new songs speak about Bilawal being a reflection of his mother (“Bibi Shaheed rani ki tasweer Bilawal”) and grandfather (“Bilawal ki soorat main Bhutto nazar aya”).
But, for now, reigns PTI’s "Rok sako toh rok lo, tabdeeli ai re" — a song for the season.
The writer was previously a staffer at the Herald.