The arrests of former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser have in common that both were former PTI leaders, but it cannot be a mere coincidence that they came after fresh elections were at last announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan. While the reason for Mr Chaudhry’s arrest was not known, uniformed policemen were in the arresting party. Mr Qaiser, on the other hand, was arrested on a corruption charge by the Islamabad police, at the behest of the KP Anti-Corruption Establishment. Mr Chaudhry’s arrest is somewhat surprising, for it was thought that his post-May 9 press conference, in which he dissociated himself from the PTI, should have been enough to get him off the hook, especially after he joined the Isteham Pakistan Party. However, now it seems to have been made clear to him that total devotion, without distraction, is required. It appears that his performance in the IPP has not been as dynamic as it was thought it would be. There were also suspicions, caused by someposts on his wife’s Twitter account, that he had not entirely given up his PTI affiliations. Mr Qaiser had apparently never wavered in his loyalty to the PTI, which may be behind his arrest. It cannot be discounted that his leading a PTI delegation which contacted JUI(F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman recently, may cause him to be viewed unfavourably enough to be made an example of.
Cumulatively, the arrests signal to potential PTI candidates, attracted by the party’s undoubted votebank, that even an application for the party ticket is not without risks. The message will resonate especially with electables, who make a fresh calculation every election of which party can deliver how many votes to add to their existing votebank. Normally, the risk of being arrested does not enter this calculation. That now it must, is a reminder that this problem was faced by the PML(N) before the 2018 election. It almost seems as if the election date had only to be announced for pre-poll rigging to start. It seems as if the boot is on the other foot. However, it seems that the foot is the same, but the party for which the boot is kicking, has changed.
