Former Prime Minister Imran Khan continues his tirade against the current government and the Pakistani state remains on the defensive. As an editorial in Dawn noted, “the new government’s bumbling efforts to articulate a strong counter-narrative to Imran Khan’s blistering multimedia offensive are taking a turn for the quixotic. Despite it now becoming clear that facts alone will do little to puncture the post-truth bubble the PTI thrives in, the government does not seem to be done beating the ‘Cablegate’ horse.”
The editorial noted that it is “more exasperating that the information minister also seems to have undermined the very purpose of the independent commission she has promised by pre-empting what its ‘findings’ will be. Even if such an inquiry were to take place, its outcome would be secondary for the PTI compared to the political opportunity to stoke nationalist sentiment and create a furor over the decidedly undiplomatic language used by the US representative, as reported in the Washington cable. Amidst all this, Imran Khan has been a few steps ahead of the incumbent government, especially when it comes to controlling the public narrative. It will take a lot more than inquiry commissions to counter the sheer force with which he has struck back.”
