A viral political joke in India has now crossed the border and Pakistan’s Gen Z is fully on board. It all started in India. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) emerged in mid-May 2025 in response to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s comparison of some unemployed youth engaged in activism to cockroaches and parasites during a Supreme Court hearing. Rather than feeling insulted, India’s Gen Z flipped the script.
A US-based public relations graduate and former Aam Aadmi Party associate, Abhijeet Dipke, launched the Cockroach Janta Party on May 16 through social media, along with a Google Form-based membership drive. In less than a week, the CJP Instagram account attracted more than 20 million followers, overtaking the official handles of both the BJP and the Congress.
The wave did not stop at the border. Pakistan soon witnessed the emergence of similar satirical pages, with one Instagram account named Cockroach Awami Party openly acknowledging its inspiration, stating in its bio: “Pakistani version of @cockroachjantaparty India.”
The bio of the Cockroach Awami Party reads: “A political front of the youth, by the youth, for Pakistan.” According to one of its posts, it is “a movement created by every student, middle-class citizen, unemployed graduate, hostel resident, freelancer, and tired Pakistani trying to survive the system every single day.”
Several similar pages using green-and-white branding describe themselves as a voice for “every Gen Z” in Pakistan and an alternative to mainstream political forces. One account states: “We are the voice of those the system called cockroaches.” Another group, Cockroach Awami League, uses the slogan, “Alive in every condition.”
The movement uses humour and memes to highlight issues such as unemployment, inflation, rising education costs, and public dissatisfaction with institutions. Unlike India’s CJP, it does not yet have a manifesto, leadership structure, or election agenda — but the message is loud and clear: Different borders, same generation.
