I think we need to analyze the other possible scenario as well. If the PDM had not gotten rid of Imran Khan, there was a serious chance that he would have made Faiz Hameed the next army chief. Now imagine Imran Khan in power with Faiz Hameed as army chief. They would have been poised to steal the 2023 elections just as they did in 2018. Almost all of the PDM would have been behind bars and their leaders disqualified in sham cases. I am not sure how strong this possibility was, but if it had come to pass, we would have had our own Erdogan and Modi. Any opposition to the great Khan would have been crushed and suppressed under the narrative of anti-corruption, hyper-nationalism, and religion.
It is difficult to say what will happen in the next elections in 2023. Even if Imran Khan comes back into power, he will have some checks and balances in place. However, I believe that if the electables do not rally behind Imran Khan and the PTI, he is unlikely to win the next elections. His popularity needs to be translated into parliamentary success with the help of electables. Let's see what happens. The game is entering an interesting phase.
One more unknown variable is Justice Faiz Essa. It remains to be seen how he will behave in the future. I am very skeptical of his "savior of Pakistan and constitution" outlook.
I believe that it is important to have the right and correct ideological position. However, in the real world of politics, when my opponent is using every illegal, unconstitutional, and unethical tool to beat me out of the political scene, should I continue to play the politically correct and ideological game and let him destroy my political capital? I am not sure.
We have seen this idealistic versus realist discussion many times in the past. I remember when Benazir Bhutto came to power in 1989 after giving concessions to the military establishment, we had the same discussion. Then again, when Benazir met Musharraf and signed the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in an attempt to return to Pakistani politics, we had the same debate.
The problem is that politics in general, and Pakistani politics in particular, is a complex game. One has to navigate through these complexities while compromising as little as possible on one's principles and ideologies. However, it is not fair to label the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) as similar to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in terms of democratic credentials
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