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MIT University Offers 7 Free Online Courses For Global Learners

2024-07-23T07:29:10+00:00

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is renowned globally for its cutting-edge programs in engineering and the physical sciences.

Free Online Courses Offered by MIT

MIT offers a variety of free online courses through its MITx platform, providing learners worldwide with access to top-tier education without any fees. Here are seven standout courses available:

MITx: Becoming an Entrepreneur

Overview: This course is designed to guide individuals through the process of founding a company. It incorporates MIT’s Disciplined Entrepreneurship, lean methodologies, and design thinking.

Key learning Points:

Overcoming myths of entrepreneurship
Defining entrepreneurial goals
Identifying business opportunities and conducting market research
Designing, testing, and pitching offerings
Planning logistics and selling to customers

Duration: 6 weeks

MITx: Data Analysis: Statistical Modeling and Computation in Applications

Overview: This course blends foundational and practical skills in data science with domain knowledge to analyse real data.

Key Learning Points:

Performing statistical analysis on real data
Using dimension reduction techniques for data visualization
Analysing social and criminal networks
Modeling time series for economic forecasting
Using Gaussian processes for environmental data

Duration: 16 Weeks

MITx: Startup Success: How to Launch a Technology Company in 6 Steps

Overview: Based on lessons from Michael Stonebraker and Andy Palmer, this course provides a six-step approach to launching a tech startup.

Key Learning points:

Assessing product ideas
Building a prototype and assembling a team
Securing initial financing
Motivating and leading a startup team
Pitching to venture capitalists

Duration: 4 weeks

MITx: Probability - The Science of Uncertainty and Data

Overview: This course covers probabilistic modeling and statistical inference to analyse data and make predictions.

Key Learning Points:

Understanding probabilistic models and random variables
Performing probabilistic calculations
Applying Bayesian inference methods
Exploring laws of large numbers and random processes

Duration: 16 weeks

MITx: Machine Learning with Python: From Linear Models to Deep Learning

Overview: This course explores principles and algorithms for machine learning, including applications in various industries.

Key Learning Points:

Classification, regression, clustering, and reinforcement learning
Implementing models such as linear models, support vector machines, and neural networks
Conducting machine learning projects

Duration: 9 weeks

MITx: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python

Overview: This is the first course in a two-part series designed for beginners to learn computational thinking and Python programming.

Key Learning Points:

Basics of computation and Python programming
Simple algorithms and data structures
Testing, debugging, and algorithmic complexity

Duration: 15 weeks

MITx: Introduction to Computational Thinking and Data Science

Overview: Aimed at students with prior programming experience, this course delves into computational problem solving using Python.

Key Learning Points:

Advanced programming in Python
Graph optimisation and dynamic programming
Probability, distributions, and Monte Carlo simulations
Statistical fallacies and curve fitting

Duration: 9 weeks

MIT's commitment to providing accessible, high-quality education is evident through its diverse academic programs and extensive online course offerings.

30 free online courses you can take from Harvard today

2024-07-21T10:35:30+00:00

Embarking on a journey of learning from one of the world’s most prestigious universities is now easier than ever with Harvard University’s array of free online courses.

Whether you’re interested in computer science, business, humanities, art, science, health, data science, mathematics, social sciences, or education, Harvard offers courses that cater to diverse interests and fields of study. Let’s explore 30 of these enriching courses that you can start today to expand your knowledge and skills.

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30 free online courses you can take from Harvard

Harvard Free Courses on Computer Science & Programming

1) CS50: Introduction to Computer Science

Dive into fundamental concepts like algorithms and web development.

2) CS50’s Web Programming with Python and JavaScript

Computer Science & Programming Learn to design web apps using Django, React, and Bootstrap.

3) CS50’s Introduction to Game Development

Computer Science & Programming Develop 2D and 3D interactive games inspired by classics.

4) CS50’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python

Computer Science & Programming Explore AI concepts through practical Python projects.

Harvard Free Courses on Business

5) Exercising Leadership: Foundational Principles

Business Master essential leadership skills for effective management.

6) Technology Entrepreneurship: Lab to Market

Business Discover strategies to move technology from lab to market.

7) Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

Business Learn entrepreneurial skills in developing markets.

Study Finds Strong Belongingness & High Productivity Among Women In Gender-Equal Workplaces© Provided by Indiatimes

Harvard Free Courses on Humanities

8) The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches Us about the Good Life

Humanities Delve into ancient Chinese philosophy and ethics.

9) Women Making History: Ten Objects, Many Stories

Humanities Explore pivotal moments in 20th-century women's history.

10) Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasive Writing and Public Speaking

Humanities Hone your skills in persuasive communication.

11) PredictionX: Lost Without Longitude

Humanities Trace the history and science of navigation techniques.

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Harvard Free Courses on Art & Design

12) Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Eyptian Art and Archaeology

Art & Design Uncover the mysteries of ancient Egyptian architecture.

13) The Architectural Imagination

Art & Design Analyze cultural and technical aspects of architecture.

14) Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and the 19th Century Orchestra

Art & Design Explore Beethoven’s musical legacy and orchestral dynamics.

Harvard Free Courses on Science

15) The Einstein Revolution

Science Understand Einstein's impact on physics and beyond.

16) Energy Within Environmental Constraints

Science Study sustainable energy systems and environmental impacts.

17) Backyard Meteorology: The Science of Weather

Science Learn to forecast weather patterns using basic observations.

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Harvard Free Courses on Health and Medicine

18) The Health Effects of Climate Change

Health and Medicine Examine the public health impacts of climate change.

19) Improving Global Health: Focusing on Quality and Safety

Health and Medicine Enhance healthcare quality and safety practices globally.

20) Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs

Health and Medicine Develop strategies to improve community health services.

Harvard Free Courses on Data Science

21) Causal Diagrams: Draw Your Assumptions Before Your Conclusions

Data Science Master causal diagram techniques for data analysis.

22) Principles, Statistical and Computational Tools for Reproducible Data Science

Data Science Learn principles and tools for reproducible research.

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Harvard Free Courses on Mathematics

23) Calculus Applied! - Mathematics

Explore practical applications of calculus in various fields.

24) Introduction to Probability

Mathematics Gain a foundational understanding of probability theory.

Harvard Free Courses on Social Sciences

25) American Government: Constitutional Foundations

Social Sciences Study U.S. political culture and constitutional principles.

26) U.S. Political Institutions: Congress, Presidency, Courts, and Bureaucracy

Social Sciences Analyze the structure and functions of American political institutions.

27) Introduction to American Civics

Social Sciences Explore the basics of American government and civic engagement.

28) Child Protection: Children’s Rights in Theory and Practice

Social Sciences Examine international children’s rights and protection issues.

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Harvard Free Courses on Education & Teaching

29) Introduction to Family Engagement in Education

Education & Teaching Learn about the role of families in supporting children’s education.

30) Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies for Interventions

Education & Teaching Explore effective global strategies for early childhood education.

These courses offer a diverse range of topics across various disciplines, providing valuable insights and skills for learners of all backgrounds.

Trump Shooting: New Footage Reveals Sniper's Reaction Just Before Suspect Fired Shots

2024-07-14T04:52:50+00:00

New footage has emerged showing a sniper’s reaction just milliseconds before the suspect opened fire on former US President Donald Trump. The video of the Pennsylvania rally captures the sniper looking up in apparent shock as the first bullet rang out.

The suspect, who was positioned on top of a structure, was swiftly neutralized following the attack.Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt on Saturday, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance.

https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1812298162398437464

Trump’s campaign said the presumptive GOP nominee was doing “fine” after the shooting, which he said pierced the upper part of his right ear. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote on his social media site.

At least one attendee was dead and two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter — who it said attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue, a farm show in Butler, Pennsylvania — and that Trump was safe.

https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1812327502028669328

The attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It drew new attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply polarized U.S. less than four months before the presidential election. And it could alter the tenor and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which will begin on Monday in Milwaukee.

Trump’s campaign said the convention would proceed as planned. President Joe Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the incident and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said. “There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” the president said in public remarks. “It’s sick. It’s sick.” Biden planned to return to Washington early, cutting short a weekend at his beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Pak court suspends 14-year jail term of Imran Khan, wife in corruption case

2024-04-02T09:25:26+00:00

In a major relief to jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a High Court on Monday suspended the 14-year sentence given to him and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana corruption case.

The two were sentenced to 14 years in jail each by an accountability court on January 31 for alleged corruption in state gifts they got from the state depository, days before the general elections.

They challenged the conviction in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) where a two-member bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case.

On Monday, the IHC gave temporary relief to the couple in the case by suspending their sentences and granting them bail in the case.

However, the court announced that their appeals against the conviction would be heard after the Eid festival next month.

But, Khan may not be released as he is convicted in other cases and cannot be released until absolved from charges in other cases. Similarly, Bushra is also convicted in another case and may not be released after her sentence has been suspended.

In the Toshakhana corruption case, the 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician is accused of retaining expensive state gifts they received during his tenure as Pakistan's premier.

Under the rules governing Toshakhana -- a Persian word meaning treasure house -- government officials can keep gifts by paying a price for them but first the gift should be deposited. Khan and his wife either failed to deposit the gift or got it for a low price by allegedly using their authority.

The conviction of Khan in the Toshakhana case came a day after he was awarded 10 years in jail in the cipher case on January 30.

Earlier, he was also convicted in a different Toshakhana case in August 2023, leading to his arrest.

The latest conviction was based on the charges of misusing his authority as prime minister to retain gifts he or his spouse got during his tenure. It was filed by the National Accountability Bureau.

The previous Toshakhana graft case was filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan in the charges of hiring the sale of state gifts.

So far, Khan has been convicted in four different cases since losing power in April 2022. He has got bail in both Toshakhana cases.

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Six Islamabad High Court judges allege ISI interference in judicial matters

2024-03-27T10:37:27+00:00

In an unprecedented move, six judges from the Islamabad High Court have appealed to the Supreme Judicial Council for intervention regarding alleged interference in the judiciary by Pakistan's powerful intelligence agencies.

A joint letter signed by the six judges from the Islamabad High Court calls upon the Supreme Judicial Council to convene and address concerns over undue influence on judicial proceedings.

The signatories of the letter, dated March 25th, include Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz.

Furthermore, the letter emphasises the importance of adopting a firm stance to safeguard the judiciary's independence through this proposed convention.

The SJC is the highest body authorised to take action against judges of high and supreme courts.

"We are writing to seek guidance from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) with regard to the duty of a judge to report and respond to actions on part of members of the executive, including operatives of intelligence agencies, that seek to interfere with discharge of his/ her official functions and qualify as intimidation, as well as the duty to report any such actions that come to his/her attention in relation to colleagues and/or members of the courts that the High Court supervises," the letter stated, according to PTI.

It goes on to highlight the interference of the executive and agencies in judicial matters, including the kidnapping and torture of the brother-in-law of a high court judge to put pressure on the judge regarding a case.

"We will also note that the code of conduct for judges prescribed by SJC provides no guidance on how judges must react to and or report incidents that are tantamount to intimidation and interfere with judicial independence," it said.

The judges further said they believe it is imperative to inquire into and determine whether there exists a continuing policy on the part of the executive branch of the state, implemented by intelligence operatives who report to the executive branch, to intimidate judges, under threat of coercion or blackmail, to engineer judicial outcomes in politically consequential matters.

The development came days after the top court declared the removal of former IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui illegal, directing that he may now be considered a retired judge.

The verdict noted that the SJC proceeded against Justice Siddiqui on the assumption that the truth or falseness of the allegations levelled by the former judge was irrelevant.

Siddiqui was sacked on October 11, 2018, by the SJC based on a speech he had delivered weeks ago at the Rawalpindi Bar Association in which he accused the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - the powerful intelligence agency of the country - of influencing the court proceedings and forming benches of choice.

In their letter, the IHC judges supported Justice Siddiqui's request to investigate the allegations made by him.

The letter is believed to be unprecedented as it officially highlights the alleged involvement of executive and intelligence agencies in the matters of the judiciary and seeks the support of the SJC, the highest body, to take action against judges and provide guidance on such matters.

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U.S. warns of strained relations with Pakistan over election irregularities

2024-03-21T08:43:34+00:00

The United States on Wednesday expressed significant concerns regarding the conduct of Pakistan's elections held on February 8, indicating that bilateral relations could be negatively impacted if the alleged irregularities are not thoroughly investigated and rectified through a rerun of votes where necessary.

Donald Lu, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, voiced these concerns to members of a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, highlighting the U.S.'s dissatisfaction with the election process and the disruption of media and social media platforms, including the extended shutdown of X, previously known as Twitter.

Lu underlined the importance of Pakistan's Election Commission to validate these irregularities and consider rerunning elections in areas affected by interference, stating, "The Election Commission of Pakistan, should it find that these irregularities are substantiated, should rerun elections where there's been interference."

"We have enjoyed 76 years of partnership with this country. It will be an impediment to our relationship if Pakistan does not have a democratic process that upholds its own constitution," Lu said.

Lu said the United States was not considering any major new military sales to Pakistan, a Cold War ally whose army and intelligence apparatus has long played a dominant role in politics and whose past links with Afghanistan's Taliban soured ties with Washington.

Ahead of the election, former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan was jailed and barred from running, with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party subject to a crackdown.

Khan's candidates nonetheless won more seats than any party, but rival Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister in a shaky coalition between two dynastic parties.

Khan, who was removed as prime minister by a parliamentary vote two years ago, has frequently criticized the US military and has alleged that the United States engineered his removal.

Khan's supporters have cited a leaked Pakistani diplomatic document that said that Lu had voiced alarm over the then prime minister's relationship with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.

Lu, who was repeatedly disrupted at the hearing by pro-Khan demonstrators, strongly denied that he ever tried to remove Khan.

"This conspiracy theory is a lie. It is a complete falsehood," he said.

"We respect the sovereignty of Pakistan. We respect the principle that Pakistan -- Pakistani people -- should be the only ones choosing their own leaders through a democratic process."

Lu, a career diplomat, said that he has received death threats and his family has been threatened over the allegations.

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North Korea tests ballistic missiles amid Blinken visit to Seoul

2024-03-18T10:54:21+00:00

North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters on Monday, amid US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Seoul for a democracy summit.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the detection of "several" suspected short-range ballistic missile launches by North Korea on Monday morning.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a parliamentary session that the North Korean missiles landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

No damage or injuries have been reported.

The US State Department criticized the missile launches, calling them a threat to the security of the region.

Blinken attending democracy summit

This latest military posturing by Pyongyang comes as Blinken was visiting Seoul to attend a conference hosted by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Blinken is also scheduled to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the third Summit for Democracy in Seoul.

The summit is an initiative of US President Joe Biden, focusing on exploring strategies to stop the global decline of democracy and the erosion of rights and freedoms.

The meeting, running from March 18 to 20, will host government officials, NGOs and civil society members.

The US secretary of state's trip includes meetings with South Korean officials, and aims to reinforce alliances.

US-South Korea conclude joint military exercise

The North Korean missile launch comes just after the 11-day annual Freedom Shield joint military exercises between the US and South Korea concluded on Thursday.

North Korea has condemned the exercises in the past as preparation for invasion.

Pyongyang recently threatened Seoul and Washington with severe consequences for their Freedom Shield exercises, saying there would be a "dear price" to be paid.

In January, tensions soared after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proposed constitutional changes to abandon peaceful Korean unification efforts.

Kim suggested declaring South Korea as its "invariable principal enemy," and threatened annexation in case of war.

Tensions in the peninsula have been high with North Korea's frequent missile tests since 2022.

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Chinese military claims Arunachal Pradesh as inherent part of China’s territory days after PM Modi’s visit to state

2024-03-18T10:28:40+00:00

The Chinese military has reaffirmed its assertion over Arunachal Pradesh, labelling the region as an “intrinsic part of China’s territory”, just days after India dismissed Beijing’s objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to the area.

According to official media reports, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defence Ministry, emphasised that the southern segment of Xizang (Tibet’s Chinese designation) is an inherent part of China’s territory, firmly rejecting the existence of “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India”. Zhang’s remarks came in response to India’s reinforcement of its military preparedness via the Sela Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, as detailed in a report published on the Chinese Defence Ministry’s website on Friday.

China, asserting Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, regularly protests Indian dignitaries’ visits to the area to underscore its claims, also designating the region as Zangnan. Conversely, India consistently rebuffs China’s territorial assertions over Arunachal Pradesh, maintaining the state’s integral status within the nation. India also disregards China’s attempts to assign “fabricated” names to the area, asserting that such actions do not alter the factual situation.

On March 9, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Sela Tunnel, constructed at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh, aimed at facilitating all-weather connectivity to strategically significant Tawang and improving troop movement in the frontier region.

The Rs 825 crore tunnel, situated on the route connecting Assam’s Tezpur to West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh, is touted as the world’s longest two-lane road tunnel at such an elevation. Indian military officials affirm that the Sela Tunnel will enhance troop and weaponry deployment to various forward positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Zhang criticised Modi’s visit, stating that such actions contradict efforts to ease border tensions and impede peace and tranquillity in border areas. He reassured that the current border situation remains generally stable, with effective diplomatic and military communication addressing mutual border concerns.

Zhang urged India to refrain from actions complicating the border issue and earnestly uphold peace and stability in the region, emphasising the Chinese military’s vigilance in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zhang’s response follows the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statement on Monday regarding lodging a diplomatic protest against India over Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. India firmly rejected China’s objection, affirming Arunachal Pradesh as an integral and inalienable part of India.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s consistent stance, stating that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will” always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Jaiswal emphasised that objections to Indian leaders’ visits or developmental projects in Arunachal Pradesh lack rationale and do not change the factual status of the state.

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Pakistan Election Crisis Deepens As Top Official Confesses Rigging, Claims CEC, Chief Justice Involved

2024-02-18T05:25:31+00:00

New Delhi: A shocking scandal has rocked the political landscape of Pakistan, as a former commissioner of Rawalpindi accused the chief election commissioner and the chief justice of being involved in rigging the recent elections.

Liaquat Ali Chattha, who resigned from his post on Saturday, claimed that he was under immense pressure to manipulate the poll results in favour of the candidates who were losing. He said he was taking the responsibility for the wrongdoing and demanded that he and others who were part of the injustice should be punished.

Chattha’s Explosive Allegations

Chattha made his explosive allegations at a press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he said he could not sleep after stabbing the country in its back. He said he even contemplated suicide, but decided to expose the truth before the public. He appealed to the bureaucracy to not do anything wrong for the politicians, and said that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice were completely involved in the rigging.

His remarks came amid nationwide protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, who alleged that their mandate was stolen in the February 8 elections.

ECP, CM Reject Claims

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) strongly rejected Chattha’s claims, and said that no official of the commission ever issued any instructions to change the election results. It also said that the commissioner of any division had no direct role in the conduct of elections, and that the matter would be investigated.

Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also ordered an impartial probe into the allegations, and formed a high-level committee to conduct an inquiry. He said that an independent inquiry would be held and the facts would be brought forward.

Chattha Arrested, Shifted

Following Chattha’s press conference, police arrived at the venue and arrested him. He was shifted to an unknown location by the security officials. The reason for his arrest and his current whereabouts are not clear.

PTI Demands Re-Election

PTI senior leader and Khan’s close aide Zulfi Bokhari reacted to Chattha’s revelation on X, and said that it was shocking and unacceptable. He blamed the chief election commissioner and the chief justice for being part of the crime, and said that Chattha was pushed close to suicide by the unbearable pressure to rig the elections.

He also said that the entire Pindi Division’s elections were rigged and null and void, and that the situation in other divisions could be worse. He demanded that the elections should be re-held and that the people’s will should be respected.

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Imran bowls surprising swing at opponents

2024-02-12T05:36:47+00:00

The people of Pakistan have spoken. And if the results being projected by a man that the Army has not been able to bend to their will is even half-way true,

the winner in Pakistan’s critical 2024 national polls is not Punjab strongman and three-time former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif or prime ministerial hopeful Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party, but the Pakistan Army’s arch nemesis, Imran Khan Niazi. The results were announced some 60 hours after polls closed on Thursday.

Imran's runaway victory at the hustings, despite being jailed for eight months and his party made electorally ineligible, has thrown a huge question mark over an electoral exercise that the vast majority of Pakistanis see as ‘state-managed’. The worries are compounded by a highly suspect internet shutdown during counting, supposedly initiated to “prevent violence”.

Fingers are being pointed at the Army led by Imran’s bete noire Gen Syed Asim Munir and his Inter-Services Intelligence cohort, Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, for the ‘manufactured’ poll results—charges that both have denied.

Imran is preparing to unleash a fresh round of street protests to challenge the PML-N-PPP coalition government being put in place at the Army’s prodding, despite the political stalwarts’ shockingly poor performance in their former stomping grounds. The irony that political leaders who know first-hand what it is to be on the wrong side of the military—and history—are preparing to sup at the same table as the men in khakhi, is lost on no one.

Given the serious charges and jail terms slapped against Imran for espionage and leaking state secrets, and despite getting bail which is no more than a move to offset international condemnation of his continued incarceration neither the US nor the UK can be seen as condoning, there’s little likelihood that he will be released from jail.

But even from behind bars, he has upset the Army’s applecart, forcing it to scramble to contain the fallout from the elections that are being questioned not just within Pakistan, but in major world capitals.

Despite the PML-N winning only 75 seats, Nawaz Sharif, the 74-year-old political tour de force, who had been removed from office in 2018 but welcomed back to the political fold to counter Imran, announced victory and laid claim to a historic fourth term in office. Within hours, the Army’s nemesis appeared in an AI-generated image and laid claim to form his own government. Imran’s claim? He won “a landslide victory” in “an unprecedented fightback”. “We are winning in more than 170 seats in the National Assembly,” he said on his X account.

By late Saturday, his party, the tech-savvy Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was questioning the slow vote count as an attempt to deprive PTI-backed independents of victory. They sent out numbers based on the Form 45 notices on the votes cast posted outside booths by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

From claiming victory in 98 of the 245 seats counted by Friday evening, as opposed to 69 by the PML-N and 51 by the Pakistan People’s Party, the PTI on Saturday upped that number to 99 seats. By late Saturday night, PTI was flooding social media with grandiose claims they had won 183 seats, the PPP 41 seats and the PMLN a mere 17, with the Jamaat-ul-Islam Fazlur winning 2 seats, and similar tallies of one and two to a host of smaller parties.

As Nawaz reaches out to the young and untested Bilawal and his far cannier father Asif Ali Zardari through his brother and former prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, few recall the large-hearted Nawaz and the pragmatic Benazir Bhutto’s deal in 2006-07, overseen by Washington and the then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

This time, Nawaz has a far trickier path to navigate as the IMF deal negotiated by his brother Shahbaz’s government rides on projecting a steady, savvy hand at the tiller. But while it's clear PTI's final numbers of 101 electoral winners, who all fought as independents, cannot form a government, it hasn’t stopped the wily Imran from throwing a ticking bomb under Gen Munir’s bus. He would like nothing better than for it to explode and show up his arch-enemy for stalling his unexpectedly strong showing at the hustings.

The incarcerated populist won the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and seats in Karachi. He is challenging Nawaz’s win in his home seat of Lahore. He has fed off a strong anti-American, anti-establishment, anti-dynast sentiment in his country to garner these votes. This is an electoral impasse that no one, least of all Gen Munir, saw coming.

But as this fractured mandate that Imran has now counter-engineered shows, he cannot be dismissed as an aberration, a footnote, as the Army would like to. The fact that PTI leaders who abandoned Imran are now electoral write-offs is one message that must be taken on board. Second, Imran’s independents are a potent third force, one he will guard against poaching by PML-N for a multi-party coalition.

Imran has opened communication lines with the Zardari-Bhuttos, offering to back Zardari as president and Bilawal as prime minister, in return for a free pass out of a lifetime in prison. If the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement agrees to play on Imran’s team, the game could change in the Kaptaan’s favour.

Gen Munir—unlike his predecessor Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who had hand-picked Imran for political office overlooking the cricketer’s hedonist, narcissistic streak that impeded good governance—knows that Imran’s popularity cuts across gender, age and community. With his own term coming to an end in a year, Munir, a Shehbaz Sharif appointee hand-held by a Washington frowning on Imran's return, also needs a pliant prime minister to extend his own term.

Imran had famously blotted his copybook with impolitic critiques of Washington’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, alienating Pakistan’s mentors, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He also upset Washington by calling for neutrality in the Ukraine-Russia war when he arrived in Moscow on the day Vladimir Putin launched the war.

Imran, holding off on unleashing his street power to arrive at a backroom deal with the establishment, looks unlikely. He seems more inclined to pressure the establishment, emboldened after the US State Department called for an investigation into “claims of election interference or fraud in Pakistan” and US politicians called for a probe into the electoral process.

For Gen Munir as much as Mian Nawaz Sharif, everything rides on putting in place a stable government that not only keeps the Sharif political legacy alive, but leads Pakistan out of the economic morass. Imran Khan, the wild card, could upend all that and more.

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