by The highway is the most politically charged stretch of a politically turbulent country. It winds 180 miles from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, across the fertile plains of Punjab province to Lahore, the cultural and political heart of the country.
For centuries, it was known only as a portion of the Grand Trunk Road, Asia’s longest and oldest thoroughfare, linking Central Asian traders with the Indian subcontinent. But in Pakistan, this smog-soaked stretch of highway has become the scene of huge rallies and protests led by almost every famous civilian leader the country has ever had.
As Pakistan approaches Thursday’s national elections, the road is crowded. Politics dominate the chatter among its vendors and rickshaw drivers, their conversations seeping into a culture of conspiracy, cults of political personality and the problems of entrenched military control.
Almost every day, hundreds of people fill the street – its overpasses covered in green, red and white political signs – to demonstrate on his side. Many more, whose preferred party was effectively dissolved amid a military crackdown, are silently cursing the authorities ahead of an election widely considered one of the least credible in the country’s history.
Mile 38: The economic crisis
The kiosk just off the main road in Gujar Khan is little more than a metal chair with newspapers neatly spread out in a circle. Men gathered around the stall, chatting over their morning tea and electric rickshaws rumbled by. Every day, the newspapers arrive with a new political ad on their front page, said the seller, Abdul Rahim, 60. But he hasn’t been convinced by any of his catchy slogans or his witty portraits.
Like many people across Pakistan, he is fed up with the country’s political system. After former Prime Minister Imran Khan came into conflict with the country’s powerful military and was ousted by Parliament in 2022, infighting appeared to consume the country’s political and military leaders. Meanwhile, people like Rahim were being crushed by the worst economic crisis in Pakistan’s recent history, which sent inflation to nearly 40 percent last year, a record high.
“For five years, I’ve been worrying about how to put food on the table; that’s all I’ve spent my time thinking about,” Rahim said.
Three governments, led by three different parties, have been in power since inflation began to rise in 2019. None were able to get the economy back on track, explained Rahim and some men gathered around the dais.
“The rulers are getting richer, their children are getting richer and we are getting poorer every day,” chimed in Abid Hussein, 57, a nearby fruit seller. “This is the worst period of my life in Pakistan.”
Mile 74: Repression
The flyers are hidden at major intersections in Jhelum, tucked among the fruits and sunglasses on vendors’ carts and surreptitiously handed out to passersby. They have a photo of Mr. Khan in the upper left corner along with his party’s new slogan: “We will take revenge with the vote.”
Most of the campaigning by Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, has been carried out in these shadows after the military began a months-long campaign of intimidation.
“They are working to crush the party. But they can’t because the party is in the hearts of the people,” said provincial assembly candidate in Jhelum, Yasir Mehmood Qureshi, as he stood in a large shaded courtyard, surrounded by about two dozen supporters.
The military crackdown was designed to marginalize the populist Khan, but most analysts say it has instead increased his support. While his popularity had plummeted as the economy declined in his final months in office, he now has a cult following. His supporters see him – and by extension themselves – as harmed by the military leaders they believe orchestrated his overthrow.
“We are frustrated,” said PTI supporter Momin Khan, 25. “Everyone is angry.”
Mile 118: The young vote
The youths were sitting on a patch of dry grass at the edge of a field in Wazirabad, half-watching a cricket match. Bored with the game, Umer Malik, 28, took out his phone and started browsing TikTok. Within seconds, a video appeared showing a PTI meeting with the words “Vote Only Khan,” another mocking the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, or PMLN, the party seen as favored by the military in this election, and another showing a slow moving shot of Mr Khan walking through a crowd.
“One in three videos is about political issues,” Malik muttered.
Malik and his friends had been captivated by the flood of political content created by the PTI in recent years. The videos explained in simple language how the Pakistan army had maintained a tight grip on power. They taught the history of several military coups d’état. They harshly criticized the generals for overthrowing Khan.
That content, outside the reach of state censorship, had sparked a political awakening for his generation, which represents about half of the country’s electorate. While young people in Punjab once received voting instructions from elders who had been promised projects like new roads by party leaders, they are now voting for whomever they prefer.
“The old era is over,” said Abid Mehar, 34, whose parents are staunch PMLN voters, although he supports the PTI. “We will vote according to our conscience.”
Mile 137: The Chosen Party
It was almost midnight when PMLN leaders appeared at the rally in Gujranwala. Hundreds of party supporters packed into rows and rows of seats, cheering and applauding as fireworks lit up the sky. Political songs blared from the speakers: “Nawaz Sharif, he will build Punjab!” “Nawaz Sharif, he will save the country!”
Sharif’s almost certain return to power has offered a redemption of sorts. He has been prime minister three times and has never completed a single term. He was overthrown twice after falling out with the military. Then, in 2017, he was ousted over corruption allegations.
But for an army bent on gutting the PTI, Sharif was seen as perhaps the only politician who could counter Khan’s popular appeal. After spending four years in exile, Sharif was allowed to return to the country in October to bolster PMLN support.
“When he returned, the party revived,” said Ijaz Khan Ballu, a PMLN activist in Gujranwala. “All these votes for PMLN are actually votes for Nawaz Sharif.”
