Imran Khan’s latest protest call risks failure if the PTI cannot overcome the trust deficit between its supporters and leadership
Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan has issued a “final call” for Nov. 24, urging PTI supporters to gather in Islamabad in large numbers to pressure the government into accepting his demands. According to Khan’s official Twitter account—managed by the PTI’s social media team in his absence—he wants the revocation of the 26th Amendment, restoration of democracy, return of the public’s mandate, and release of all political prisoners. This sets the stage for yet another confrontation between the embattled party and the government.
Since May 2022, the PTI has organized a wave of protests, arising from Khan’s ouster as prime minister. The aim of these demonstrations shifts—ranging from political grievances to calls for early elections to demands for “real” independence—but share a commonality in galvanizing the PTI’s base, which brands all opponents as “corrupt.” Another commonality? Clashes between protesters and law enforcers, and subsequent mass arrests.
The latest call echoes Khan’s previous demands for marches. The first was the Azadi March of late May 2022. This was followed by political rallies across Pakistan throughout the summer and fall of 2022, with the PTI using them as a platform to build public pressure on the government. Apart from serving as a form of protest, these rallies also allowed Khan to maintain his political relevance and solidify his connection with the party’s support base.
The protests took on a more urgent tone following an assassination attempt on Khan in November 2022 during a rally in Wazirabad, intensifying the PTI’s narrative of victimhood and resistance. A key reason for the urgency was also the PTI’s unease with the appointment of Chief of Army Staff Gen. Asim Munir, which the party resisted until the very last minute.
As 2023 unfolded, PTI’s strategy increasingly included calls for civil disobedience and pressure campaigns. These culminated in the May 9 riots, which triggered a nationwide crackdown on the party that persists today. The most recent protest call—coinciding with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Islamabad last month—collapsed after protest leader and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur abandoned it, leaving supporters at the mercy of authorities.
Gandapur’s actions effectively broke the trust between the PTI’s supporters and its leadership, leaving the party struggling to mobilize supporters even in its “home ground” of Swabi. Khan’s “final call” aims to course correct, taking on an outsized importance for the PTI’s political future. Several leaders, including Gandapur, have hinted this is a “do or die” moment, indicating the real aim of the protest is to oust the incumbent government. Recognizing this, government ministers have vowed to use all available means to defeat it.
If the PTI manages to overcome the trust deficit and once more galvanize its supporters, it has a shot at reversing done by Gandapur and the party’s previous “final” calls. Conversely, if it fails, the party could be in for a very long, very hard winter.