On September 27, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) plans to march toward Islamabad, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. PTI frames the protest as a struggle for Imran Khan’s release, constitutional rights, and political justice. Meanwhile, the federal government maintains that it will not allow the march to reach the capital, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warning PTI against entering a “dead-end street.” Both sides are right, it is a dead-end street. The fundamental problem is that both PTI and the establishment are trapped in it. September 27 is significant not because of how many people reach the capital or how many are stopped, but because it may demonstrate, once again, that neither side possesses an exit strategy.

Consider what has happened since 2023. Following the events of May 9, state crackdowns placed PTI under severe political and organizational pressure. Thousands were arrested and numerous cases were registered. Yet Imran Khan’s political influence has not disappeared. A similar attempt to reach Islamabad occurred on November 26, 2024. Despite blocked roads, heavy security, violent clashes, and casualties on both sides, the protest was eventually dispersed—leaving the political deadlock largely unchanged. That is the pattern. The state can win the day on the street, but it cannot settle the political argument. Conversely, PTI can survive a crackdown, but it cannot overturn the political order through street power alone.

Today, the systemic deadlock is sharper than ever. For PTI, politics without Imran Khan........

© The Friday Times