Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive on the four signs of the litmus test proposed by political scientists Juan Linz, Steven Levitsky, and Daniel Ziblatt.
The first indicator in the litmus test is the weak commitment to democratic rules of the game — rejection or violation of the constitution, sabotaging the electoral process and refusing the electoral results, using measures to oust the government beyond the limits of the constitution. Khan met this criterion when he staged a 126-day long sit-in, questioning the legitimacy of the general elections held in 2013. When he came into power in 2018, his government passed extra-constitutional ordinances without consulting the opposition. He installed unelected officials, especially from the military, in the state institutions that dwarfed the role of elected representatives. The final blow to the democratic rules of the game occurred when the deputy speaker of the lower house of the parliament kicked off the no-confidence motion submitted against the PM after terming it a violation of article 5 of the constitution. This move was followed by another unconstitutional step when Khan ordered his president to dissolve the National Assembly and take measures for the next general elections to be held within 90 days.
The second indicator in the litmus test is the denial of the legitimacy of political opponents. One of the core elements of the PTI’s manifestos is to root out corruption and bring the corrupt elite to justice. This mantra was used against the rival politicians. The national accountability bureau and other state institutions, on behalf of the ruling PTI, carried out a witch-hunt against the opposition. Abusive politics gained strength under Khan's government. He termed his political adversaries as foreign agents and traitors. Khan waved a controversial letter to the public gathering saying that foreign countries in collaboration with the opposition parties were involved in toppling his government.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, political parties are the creation of the extremist demagogues — PPP of Bhutto, PML-N of Nawaz Sharif, and PTI of Imran Khan. There is no establishment within the parties, no primaries, and caucuses that can keep the autocrats out of the party.
The third sign in the test is the toleration or encouragement of violence. Physical and verbal assaults on journalists, whom the PTI deemed as its rivals, soared in the previous three and half years. When the PDM was on the march to Islamabad, the PTI leaders warned them of dire consequences if they advanced to the capital. Khan agitated his stalwarts against the opposition and dissident party members through his speeches. Prior to the no-confidence motion against him on April 3, some sources revealed that the party workers were told to gather near the parliament and resort to violence to thwart the process of the move.
The last indicator of authoritarian behaviour is the intolerance to criticism and curtailing of civil liberties — of the opposition, media, and civil society. In 2014, the PTI workers along with Pakistan Awami Tehreek's (PAT) stormed the headquarters of a state-owned media enterprise, Pakistan Television. The day-to-day altercations of Khan’s ministers with journalists were witnessed throughout his regime. Recently, a heated exchange of words started after Fawad Chaudhry called the journalist, Matiullah Jan, a “gun for hire”; earlier in March 2021, when the same journalist asked a simple question from the Minister for Water and Power Resources, Faisal Vawda, about his dual nationality, he lashed out at him and replied, “ I know you need this information for your sensational vlogs.” The introduction of the Pakistan Media Development Authority Ordinance, 2021, was an attempt to replace all the seven individual regulatory bodies with one centralized authority that regulates print, electronic and digital media together. This move of the government was highly criticized by both the media associations and the then opposition parties. The amendment in the PECA ordinance — which was declared by the judiciary as against the constitutional rights of the individuals — by the PTI without taking the parliament into confidence, was an attempt to quell the dissenting voices.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, political parties are the creation of the extremist demagogues — PPP of Bhutto, PML-N of Nawaz Sharif, and PTI of Imran Khan. There is no establishment within the parties, no primaries, and caucuses that can keep the autocrats out of the party. In Khan’s turn, the judiciary did not legitimize violation of the constitution which is a sign of hope for future democracy in Pakistan.
The writer is a student at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad