Thread by @_AhmedQuraishi

#Pakistan update | Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI's Government is now receiving messages from the opposition to resign, call for new election, and avoid passing election laws that would make polls easier to manipulate, including against the ruling #PTI itself. /1

In some ways, the opposition is sending messages to PM #ImranKhan to minimize his losses & avoid further empowering #Pakistan's civmil establishment in his last months in power. Meanwhile, the umbrella opposition alliance #PDM, other oppo parties, and some coalition parties/2

are agreed that it would be a mistake to push @ImranKhanPTI out of power now when opportunity exists. No one is eager to replace the ruling #PTI amid political & economic mess. Also, apparent lack of political consensus inside the civmil establishment adds to the uncertainty. /3

Some opposition figures have conveyed a msg to aides of PM #ImranKhan he should resign & call a fresh vote. If this does not happen, the opposition will prefer to wait for the #PTI govt to collapse under its own burden, including the new mistrust with the civmil establishment. /4

The opposition appears to be especially banking on PM #ImranKhan's alleged attempt to play politics inside the military institution, borrowing a page from President #Erdogan's book that allowed him to stay in power for a long time. /5

Some in the opposition believe PM #ImranKhan would lose in the aftermath of the alleged attempt to tinker with the military and that the opposition should wait for the results instead of trying to hasten Khan's fall through street agitation. /6

This thinking was at work recently when the opposition did not exploit the extremist TLP's street violence against the #ImranKhan govt. The opposition parties will continue this policy while balancing #Pakistan public demand to give a tough time to ruling #PTI due to inflation./7

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