Unless something dramatic happens over the next 12 days — and this being Pakistan, drama is always on the cards — few would bet against the PTI securing some kind of mandate on July 25, democratically or otherwise. But even fewer expect anything like a two-thirds majority, with a cobbled-together coalition featuring dozens of (jeep-wielding) independents the most likely outcome.

So if this is Imran’s dream come true, how will it unfold?

This is a country in which virtually every single prime minister — directly elected or not — has fallen foul of the powers that be. Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, Z.A. Bhutto, his daughter Benazir and Nawaz Sharif are the most prominent names on the list. Even Muhammad Khan Junejo found a way to get into Gen Zia’s bad books.

If this sounds like a broken record, it is because our system is like a broken record.

Read the rest of Aasim Sajjad Akhtar's op-ed in today's Dawn here.