Sidelined Earlier this month, PTI suffered a crucial blow when the Supreme Court banned it from contesting elections with its electoral symbol: the cricket bat.In a country where millions of people cannot read or write, symbols are crucial for voters to identify their prefered party and candidate.The election commission instead ordered Ahsan Khan to use a bottle, an emblem viewed with disdain in rural areas because it is associated with alcohol.Khan’s rival in Mianwali, Obaid Ullah Khan, is indifferent to the punishment meted out to his rival political party.”When would it be justified if not now?” he said of the crackdown.Unlike PTI candidates, Ullah Khan, who is standing for Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), meets openly with villagers, whose leaders assure him of the support of the entire community, in hope of future favours.The PML-N is the party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was jailed ahead of the 2018 election and later forced into self-imposed exile.As Khan has fallen, Sharif has risen, returning to his country and into the arms of the military, analysts say.Despite being sidelined from the election campaign, voters have not lost their lust for Khan.Hanzala bin Shakeel, a 23-year-old computer science student, will vote for the first time and is making no secret of his choice.”I will vote for (Imran Khan) because he is the only one who really cares about this country; the others prioritise their personal interests.”
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