By Henna Butt

As someone on the mailing list for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) (the political party run by ex-cricketer turned politician Imran Khan) I regularly get emails encouraging me grab one of the last few tickets for a dinner event with the party’s chairman at a swanky hotel. Pakistani political parties put a huge amount of time and effort into their operations in the UK and elsewhere around the world. This has led me to question what exactly these organisations hope to gain from their activities outside of the home state. As migration increases, transnational political engagement becomes more widespread amongst diaspora communities – what are the consequences for state democracy?

Take a look at PTI’s website and you will find a long list of chapters abroad in 20 countries. The same is true of every other major political party in Pakistan – they all court diasporic communities.

Looking then at PTI in the UK we can gain an idea of the activities that they carry out. The first major function is of course fundraising; primarily through membership fees and wheeling out the eternally disarming charm of Mr Khan for a premium price. There is nothing particularly innovative about earning in pounds and spending in rupees, what interests me more is the mobilisation of the Pakistani diaspora by political parties.

PTI UK seeks to gain the support of dual and Pakistani citizens living in the UK whose allegiance can be garnered in case of return. The party has also recently decided to offshore some of its thinking by establishing a UK-based think-tank in order to provide policy input for PTI in Pakistan.

Over recent years many countries have been seeking to strengthen links with their diasporas through providing benefits such as dual citizenship. Mexico has gone so far as to allow Mexicans living in the USA to vote in elections, this has also been posited as a policy direction for Pakistan. The Mexican case has been met with a great degree of criticism and it is clear that a wider problem is emerging here. As governments seek to appeal to diasporas abroad (mostly in order to lure their riches and expertise home), they are not making policy exclusively for those residing within the territory of the state. Additionally, it flies in the face of democracy that those with influence over policy, in this case party members abroad, are themselves living outside of the social contract.

Supporters of PTI in the UK have also been encouraged to act in order to lobby the British government and other foreign governments regarding foreign policy towards Pakistan. An example of this is the PTI UK protest of 21^st May 2011 outside the US embassy in London against drone attacks in north Pakistan. The use of diaspora actors in order to pursue foreign policy aims is an innovative approach. However, this activity is also occurringwithout accountability, outside of Pakistani democratic institutions without the knowledge of most citizens.

UK-based supporters of PTI are also encouraged to lobby contacts in Pakistan to support the policy goals of the party.  For example, on the Twitter feed of PTI UK coordinator, Rabia Zia on 23^rd April 2011:

“25k-30k people already at Baghenaran. Please encourage ur relatives, friends to join the dharna[demonstration]. This is a historical moment for pple of Pak” 

This is an extremely resourceful yet roundabout form of political campaign. European and US development policy currently view the diasporas of developing countries as agents of change delivering economic and social remittances. However,politicising the diaspora and bringing them into the fold of domestic affairs is an action that should be approached with far more caution. It must be considered that there are issues on which diaspora and resident Pakistani interests will diverge. By lending power of policy input and mobilising the diaspora for direct action, Pakistan’s democratic institutions and the general population have the potential to be circumvented. Politics is already the realm of an elite class, exporting politics is a recipe for further disengagement of the masses and provides an opportunity for diasporic communities to take advantage of existing global hierarchies and inequalities in order to put their interests first.