Former prime minister steps up attacks on Pakistan’s military leaders as ministers plan to rearrest him
The crowds gathered peacefully, jostling outside the home of the man they call the “saviour of Pakistan”, hoping for a glimpse. Two days earlier, these same streets in the city of Lahore had resembled a warzone as tens of thousands of protesters violently took to the streets, ransacking buildings, burning cars, throwing petrol bombs and clashing with police, with several dying from gunshot wounds.
Now free again, at least for the time being, Khan has vowed mass protests on a scale never seen before in Pakistan until general elections, due in October, are called early. If they happen, and Khan is allowed to enter the contest, the consensus is that he would gain an overwhelming victory. The government, meanwhile, has pledged to re-arrest Khan as soon as legally able, indicating that Pakistan’s volatile days are likely far from over.
As he made increasingly provocative allegations against top military figures – the most feared men in Pakistan – accusing them of being involved in international conspiracies and assassination attempts on his life, many felt that Khan was playing with fire. The allegations against him grew, and he now faces almost 100 cases involving corruption, sedition and even blasphemy, and if convicted, would likely be disqualified from politics.
Yet for all Khan’s bravado, not all are convinced that he truly intends to end the role of the military in politics, given his longstanding relations with the establishment, and suggested he was instead trying to sow division to enable his return to power.
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