Every populist surge begins with a whisper: this time will be different. For Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its leader, Imran Khan, that whisper became a roar.

For years, PTI rallies felt less like political events and more like collective therapy sessions, where young professionals, students, and urban voters vented frustration at dynastic politics, corruption, and institutions that seemed permanently rigged against them. Khan gave voice to that anger in a way few leaders ever do, transforming resentment into hope, hope into loyalty, and loyalty into political power. Yet while PTI’s rise mirrored global populist waves, from Juan Perón in Argentina to Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Narendra Modi, the movement’s structural weaknesses would soon reveal the limits of charisma in Pakistan’s unique political system.

Populism is not judged by how loudly it rises. It is judged by what it becomes once it wins.

Take Peronism, the gold standard of enduring populism. Juan Perón didn’t just inspire Argentina’s working class; he reorganised the state around them. Unions were not an accessory to his movement; they were its spine. Welfare was not charity; it was identity. Peronism embedded itself into everyday life so deeply that even Perón’s enemies had to govern in its shadow. Eight decades later, it still defines Argentine politics.

PTI never became that.

Imran Khan inspired fierce loyalty, but loyalty without structure is fragile. PTI’s base was emotionally intense but socially scattered: students, professionals, overseas Pakistanis, and first-time........

© The Friday Times