Imran Riaz Khan has left Pakistan for the United Kingdom – some will say he has escaped and done something that he said he would never do – leave the country. Others will say he only fled because he had to and had no other choice since he and his family were constantly being harassed for his support of Imran Khan. In the recent past, after the fall of the PTI government, Imran Riaz Khan was also detained for several months and by his admission tortured to give up his support of Imran Khan, and that shouldn’t happen to anyone, not even to your worst opponent.
Imran Riaz Khan started his career as a reporter and later became a TV anchor. However, his true fame came when as an ardent supporter of Imran Khan –during the time the former cricketer was prime minister and running a PTI government in the centre as well as in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – he basically became an unofficial spokesman of the government. In addition to that, he also used his social media handles, especially his YouTube and Twitter/X accounts to heap daily criticism and scorn on the opposition parties, or in fact on anyone who dissented and disagreed with Imran Khan and his policies, or his party.
Imran Riaz Khan was a pioneer if you wanted to use a euphemism, for mentoring a whole breed of YouTubers, young men who were ardent supporters of Imran Khan, who weren’t exactly journalists but had no qualms using hard-hitting language for Khan’s opponents and often added a healthy dose of fake news and disinformation to go along with such ‘analysis’.
Thus, a whole generation, so to speak, was spawned under the tutelage of Imran Riaz Khan – and one should remember that at that time Imran Khan and his party and the Establishment were firmly on the same page, and whatever Imran Riaz Khan and his acolytes were doing had the blessings of the power players.
The new PECA law amendments were brought in to control social media platforms and in particular social media ‘stars’ like Imran Riaz Khan whose vlogs generally have more views than most primetime shows on mainstream Pakistani news channels
Then, the vote of no confidence happened in April 2022. The PTI government was booted out and Imran Khan fell out of favour. This was followed by his going to prison as well as several senior PTI leaders. As for Imran Riaz Khan, he continued with his hard-hitting vlogs and his popularity among PTI supporters grew exponentially. This was also the time when a large number of PTI supporters, angered by the PTI government’s ouster, openly blamed the Establishment and Imran Riaz Khan became their voice. During the past few years, Imran Riaz Khan’s YouTube subscribers have continued to swell – he has over 5.64 million subscribers as of the last count.
It would be fair to assume that the new PECA law amendments were brought in to control social media platforms and in particular social media ‘stars’ like Imran Riaz Khan whose vlogs generally have more views than most primetime shows on mainstream Pakistani news channels (a reflection of how slowly but surely even television news is losing ground to social media platforms which cater to the country’s growing younger audience).
In another change of heart, Imran Riaz Khan now praises the struggles of the various oppressed communities in Pakistan, including people like Mahrang Baloch. In the past, he would often mock such figures in his vlogs. In particular, on the issue of enforced disappearances or harassment of journalists by the PTI government of that time, or by state agencies, his line was that such stories were all made up and that they didn’t deserve any sympathy. In the case of journalists, the beating up of Asad Toor or the temporary abduction of Matiullah Jan, his response was never of any solidarity or even muted support but outright mockery and derision, often giving the impression that the journalist who was being harassed either made up the whole episode or brought it upon himself. Now that he is at the receiving end, he is now expressing support and solidarity. Perhaps he has learned the hard way how the Pakistani state can be brutal towards dissent.
To be clear, Imran Riaz Khan’s rise, especially when the PTI and Imran Khan were firmly in power, was unparalleled and it continues, in terms of subscribers and views on his social media handles. However, he is displaced and so is his family – they have all had to leave Pakistan. He has also mentioned that very soon he will share the details of the torture and repression he faced. And though he has said he will return to Pakistan when it is safe for him, it remains to be seen when that will happen, if at all.