The PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) has consistently labeled the current federal government as illegal and a “Form 47 government.” This government has now completed its first six months, and PTI leaders continue to claim that it will fall in the coming weeks. The PTI founder has gone so far as to assert that four constituencies will be opened in October and that the current government will collapse on its own. The PTI founder’s claim exceeds even that of his party leaders, suggesting that their petitions will be heard, and that the current Prime Minister might face abduction if he steps down.
Historically, no Prime Minister in Pakistan has been arrested upon stepping down from office, so how could abduction be possible? It is possible that their self-styled representatives have suggested this scenario, as dreams of imprisonment or house arrest are common. Perhaps these dreams are being seen by leaders in Adiala Jail or others, and they have shared these with the media, awaiting the fulfillment of their October predictions.
After being constitutionally removed from office, the PTI Prime Minister served for forty-four months. Shehbaz Sharif, who served as Prime Minister for sixteen months, had also previously managed to avoid arrest for sixteen months, largely due to his strategy of keeping the Punjab and Islamabad police away from his Lahore residence. However, he was eventually arrested and has spent a year in Adiala Jail.
The leaders of the (N) League, in response to complaints from the former Prime Minister about his conditions, say that he is being treated like a guest in a five-star hotel rather than in a cramped cell. He is provided with a spacious cell, meals from an Islamabad restaurant, and other amenities like desi chicken, buttered bread, and preferred foods, though he still complains about the lack of facilities.
In 2018, PTI was awarded the most seats through RTS (Result Transmission System) changes made late at night. Although these seats were insufficient for forming a government, PTI managed to secure support from other parties to elect its Prime Minister. In Punjab, where the (N) League had more seats, the (Q) League was given the Speaker role to help PTI form the Buzdar government, as the Prime Minister had requested a government in Punjab as well.
In 2018, when Shehbaz Sharif became the opposition leader against the Prime Minister’s wishes, he was soon imprisoned. The PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) labeled the Prime Minister as “selected,” which the Prime Minister found deeply offensive. Consequently, through a favored NAB (National Accountability Bureau) chairman, all major (N) League and PPP leaders were jailed, including former presidents, prime ministers, ministers, and even the former President’s sister and the former Prime Minister’s daughter. All of them were accused of being products of RTS and were jailed, only to be released on bail.
Just as the (N) League, PPP, and JUI (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam) labeled the 2018 election as an RTS election, PTI and its supporters now call the current National Assembly a fake assembly brought about by Form 47.