Pakistan gets its own ‘Cockroach Awaam Party’ as India’s viral CJP sparks cross-border satire wave

The viral Cockroach Janta Party appears to have inspired a wave of similarly themed satirical political groups in Pakistan, with pages such as the Cockroach Awami Party (CAP) and Cockroach Awami League (CAL) emerging on social media soon after the Indian satirical social media outfit went viral online.The Cockroach Janta Party emerged in mid-May after remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant referring to certain unemployed youth engaged in activism as “cockroaches” and “parasites” triggered widespread reactions online. However, the CJI later clarified that the remarks were not intended to refer to all unemployed youth.Soon after, US-based public relations graduate and former Aam Aadmi Party associate Abhijeet Dipke launched the social media-driven Cockroach Janta Party on May 16 along with a Google form-based membership drive.Within days, the party’s Instagram account amassed more than 15 million followers, overtaking the official handles of both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress. The group positioned itself as a voice for “lazy and unemployed” youth and raised issues related to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, examination reforms and accountability.Although the party’s X account was withheld in India on Thursday, it later resurfaced through another handle carrying the message that said, “You thought you can get rid of us? Lol”.Soon after its online rise in India, similar pages began appearing in Pakistan. One Instagram page calling itself Cockroach Awami Party described itself with the bio: “Yeah copied but who cares. Motto is same”.The account, which uses green-and-white branding, says it aims to become “the real voice of every Gen-Z” in Pakistan and positions itself as an alternative to mainstream political parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Peoples Party.Several similar accounts have also appeared on X. One page described itself with the line: “Jinhein system ne cockroach samjha, hum unhi awaam ki awaaz hain,” while another page claiming to represent the Cockroach Awami League used the slogan: “Har halaat mein zinda hain.”