Spiralling debt, terrorism and massive corruption would confound many a statesman more experienced than Imran Khan

It remains to be seen how he will translate all this rhetoric into action but the coming years are sure to make him the focus of international attention, writes Khawaja Khalid Farooq

In this photo provided by the office of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Pakistani politician Imran Khan, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, delivers his address in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, July 26, 2018. Khan declared victory Thursday for his party in the country's general elections, promising a "new" Pakistan following a vote that was marred by allegations of fraud and militant violence. (Tehreek-e-Insaf via AP)
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The new government in Pakistan, led by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, will have vast challenges awaiting it on taking power, including a fragile economy, massive debt and the geostrategic challenge of maintaining foreign relations, to name just a few. A paramount priority is the extent to which the new government will be willing to prioritise and actively lead the country's external affairs and stabilise the security milieu of the country.

Many in Pakistan foresee the PTI-led government ceding much of its control over foreign strategic affairs to the military establishment by default. But it still cannot be seen to shirk its duty of responding to international diplomatic stresses, due to Pakistan's complicated position on different regional issues. Relations with India, US and Afghanistan are frayed, Kashmir is growing more volatile and Pakistan is weighed down by massive debt which is growing, in part due to the loans for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is said to be Pakistan's geostrategic and economic game-changer.

Pakistani men sit near a poster of Pakistan's cricketer-turned politician and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party Imran Khan, in Islamabad on July 30, 2018.
Pakistan's World Cup cricket hero Imran Khan is set to become prime minister of the nuclear-armed nation of 207 million, with an economy inching toward crisis and perennial conflict on its borders. Running the country will take considerable statecraft from Khan's relatively inexperienced party. He brings charisma, international name recognition and a sizeable election victory, though not enough to form a majority government.
 / AFP PHOTO / AAMIR QURESHI
Campaign poster for Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party. Aamir Qureshi / AFP

The issue of militant extremists on its soil has also constantly heightened the international perception of Pakistan as a pariah, which is another contentious issue awaiting to be tackled. In a connected world, economy, foreign policy and security affairs are inextricably intertwined with each other and since all three are major areas of concern for the fledgling government, there will be interesting times ahead for the “new Pakistan” of Mr Khan.

The previous two governments, especially that of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), to a great extent owed their fractures to friction with the security establishment on foreign policy matters. Even though there is an overall perception that PTI has been successful in winning the confidence of the establishment over the past five years, Mr Khan is known to be notoriously unpredictable in his decision-making and is reported to seldom heed even closest counsel. One would hope that his years in politics have embellished him with the acumen to deal with the tricky Pakistani tightrope-walking act of civil military relations. Certainly his public statements have matured much over the years.

A Pakistani walks past a poster of Imran Khan, head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, at a market in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, July 28, 2018. The party of cricket star Imran Khan says it has acquired the support of the lawmakers required to form a coalition government after winning this week's polls. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Imran Khan has to tackle spiralling debt, corruption and extremism. Anjum Naveed / AP

One of his first major international challenges could be the international perception of Pakistan, which is currently exacerbated by being placed on the terrorism financing watch list. US-Pakistan relations are more contentious than ever. Since Mr Khan first entered politics in 1996, American policymakers and analysts have acknowledged his appeal but routinely dismissed his political significance, instead focusing on his sympathetic rhetoric toward extremists. Indeed, the nickname "Taliban Khan" that he earned in segments of western popular media has stuck.

His refusal to condemn the attack by the Taliban against the Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai in 2012 and his stance in 2014 calling the Taliban “our brothers” and “our own people” during a Pakistani government counter-narrative effort are just two of the many problematic red flags in his anti-West portfolio of rhetoric. It also remains to be seen how Mr Khan’s anti-drone stance and refutation so far of Pakistan’s part in the global war on terror will shape in the long run.

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While both Donald Trump and Mr Khan can be blunt, the latter might just have benefited politically from such grandstanding against an already unpopular US among Pakistani masses. He might surprise his detractors by adopting a more statesman-like role, which he already seems to be growing into.

Another of the most troublesome issues smearing Pakistan’s international reputation is that of extremism and the state’s repeat failures to deal with it, either by negligence or tacit approval, depending on what international lens is being used.

Even though religion and extremism are intertwined in Pakistan, the issue runs deeper. If religion had been among voters’ top priorities, the religiopolitical parties would have been a primary choice. However, as with all other elections, this one has also demonstrated that religious parties and coalitions like the Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) have failed to impress Pakistani voters significantly.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of a Pakistani religious parties alliance, speaks to journalists with other party leaders, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Pakistan's political parties say they will join hands against the "stolen mandate" of Imran Khan, whose party won the most votes in an election marred by allegations of fraud. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of a Pakistani religious parties' alliance, contesting the election outcome. BK Bangash / AP

The extremist project coalesced in the form of “new” rightist political parties that contested this election. Even though they failed to win any notable success, their presence as political actors and their street power remains a challenge for the new government. These new far right parties included Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Milli Muslim League, which  contested from the platform of Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek and old sectarian groups such as the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), Sunni Tehreek and Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen.

These parties also contained clusters of smaller groups within their overarching structures and acted as catalysts for dividing the constituencies of older religious parties like the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Samiul Haq faction) and factions of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan.

It is a fact of life in Pakistan that what these parties lack in electoral votes, they make up for by the potential to cripple life in Pakistan through their lockdowns, shutter-down strikes and protest sit-ins, or dharnas (which some would say were pioneered by Mr Khan). All government efforts to handle such volatile gatherings have been dealt with kid gloves in the recent past, except for the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid in Islamabad in Pervez Musharraf’s time. That opened a Pandora’s box of terrorism and led to more than 150 deaths, which no Pakistani government would want to repeat, especially Mr Khan’s.

epa06915895 Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) party which recently concluded its mandate shout slogans during a protest against alleged rigging in general elections, in Karachi, Pakistan, 28 July 2018. Pakistan's outgoing ruling party joined a dozen other parties on 27 July in announcing protests to demand a re-do of this week's general elections, rejecting preliminary results that point to victory for the party of retired cricket great Imran Khan.  EPA/REHAN KHAN
Supporters of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) protest amid claims of vote-rigging. Rehan Khan / EPA

However, trends have shown that these groups incrementally ask for more concessions when they perceive someone being even slightly accommodating. It remains to be seen where Mr Khan will draw the line.

Sectarian parties like the hardline ASWJ were also contesting elections under the banner of Rah-i-Haq party. Even though the party was originally banned under Pakistani anti-terror laws, it and other parties found breathing space through the electoral process.

In a farfetched paradigm, this could be construed as a de-radicalisation effort aimed at mainstreaming radicals. Though largely unsuccessful so far in elections, ASWJ and other parties pose the potential to give any incumbent government a hard time.

Terrorism and extremism thus urgently demand a coherent response in Pakistan. While PML-N did not present much more than aspirational goals without a clear road map in the shape of the National Action Plan against terrorism and extremism, PTI has not fared much better. However, there is much to PTI’s credit in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it is said to have actively supported the army’s counter terrorism campaigns, raising, for example, a civilian-led quick response force to bolster policing in affected areas.

Supporters of Pakistan's cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party, celebrate in Karachi on July 27, 2018.
 A group of Pakistani political parties announced on July 27,  a protest demanding new elections following allegations of rigging in this week's nationwide polls that were won by cricket hero Imran Khan's party.  / AFP / RIZWAN TABASSUM
Supporters of Imran Khan celebrating his win. Rizwan Tabassum / AFP

Mr Khan will now be required to lead from the front in devising a tangible anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policy for Pakistan with a clearer strategic direction, which he is in a better position to do, thanks to his purported relations with the security apparatus. He has also recently made bold comments against terrorism, for example when PTI candidate Ikramullah Gandapur died from injuries caused by a suicide attack in Dera Ismail Khan during campaigning. Mr Khan vowed that he would never be intimidated by terrorists in any way, a resolve which he, of all people, might be able to carry into action.

For Mr Khan, much remains to be done; spiralling debt and massive corruption would confound many an elder statesman. Although he has come to power precisely by decrying corruption, this was aimed more at his political opponents rather than anyone else and is unlikely to result in robust anti-corruption structures in Pakistan or a significant decrease in corruption overall.

It remains to be seen how he will translate all this rhetoric into action. However, his personal integrity is unquestioned and an incorruptible leader might just be what the nation needs at the moment; the rest might slowly fall into place. No matter how they turn out, one thing is for sure; the coming years will make Mr  Khan and Pakistan the focus of international attention.

Khawaja Khalid Farooq is the ex-head of Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority and a retired inspector general for Pakistan Police