The end of the affair: How Imran Khan went from the Pakistan Army’s saviour to its nemesis

For galore years, Pakistan's subject constitution believed that successful Imran Khan they had recovered a saviour for the country. But, writes writer and writer Mohammed Hanif, aft lone a twelvemonth retired of powerfulness helium is threatening to go their nemesis - and the subject is utilizing each its mightiness to prevention itself from Khan's wrath.

As Imran Khan and his enactment look a country-wide crackdown, Pakistan seems to person travel to a standstill. The state is facing crippling ostentation and a summertime that is going to beryllium the hottest successful history, with changeless powerfulness breakdowns, and yet the full state is consumed with what Khan volition bash next, and what our subject constitution tin bash to incorporate him.

After helium was removed from powerfulness much than a twelvemonth ago, his supporters said Khan was their "red line" and that if helium was arrested, the state would burn. But aft a fig of failed attempts, a contingent of paramilitary forces did conscionable that connected 9 May.

The state didn't rather burn, but Khan's supporters took the combat to subject cantonments. The army's headquarters, General Headquarters (GHQ), astir apt the astir unafraid spot successful Pakistan, was breached and radical trampled connected the signboards with subject logos. A elder general's location successful Lahore was ransacked - Khan's supporters videoed themselves portion mounting his furnishings and cars connected fire, 1 protester walked distant wearing the general's uniform, different made distant with his favored peacock.

It had each the symbols of a revolution, but that it wasn't. Imran Khan was archetypal loved by the army, past shunned by them, present his supporters were settling their scores. It was little of a gyration and much of a lovers' spat.

It's astir a rite of transition for each premier curate to autumn retired with the Pakistan army. The country's archetypal elected premier curate Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, his girl Benazir Bhutto was dismissed doubly arsenic a premier curate and her assassination, by a teenage termination bomber, was ne'er afloat investigated. Nawaz Sharif was dismissed, jailed, exiled - present again successful exile, helium rules by proxy via his younger member Shehbaz, but inactive can't instrumentality to the country.

After Imran Khan's apprehension his supporters did what nary mainstream governmental unit has done before. Instead of taking to the streets successful protest, they invaded the cantonment areas and showed the citizens however Pakistani generals live: successful immense mansions with swimming pools and acres of lawns wherever peacocks roam.

Just earlier helium was picked up, Khan singled retired Pakistan Army's Chief of Staff General Asim Munir arsenic the antheral trying to crush his governmental party. Before that helium had called the erstwhile service main General Bajwa, who was instrumental successful bringing and sustaining him successful power, a traitor. He besides fingered an ISI wide for being liable for a failed assassination connected him. He and his supporters repeatedly called the accused wide Dirty Harry successful nationalist rallies. Many Pakistani politicians successful the past person named and shamed the service arsenic an instauration but Pakistanis are not utilized to seeing the images of a Corps Commander's location connected fire, women protesters rattling the gates of GHQ, and the statues of decorated soldiers being toppled.

This was precisely what the existent government, a conjugation of astir each the governmental parties opposed to Khan, needed to deed back. The authorities has been trying to get retired of an impending nationalist predetermination which according to galore sentiment polls Khan is apt to win. Now galore authorities politicians are calling for an outright prohibition connected his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) - its sanction means Movement for Justice.

In the past, reprisals against politicians who person taken connected the service person been swift. Ali Wazir, an elected assembly subordinate who called retired the army's sympathies for the Taliban, was successful jailhouse for 2 years and was not adjacent allowed to be the National Assembly. Thousands of governmental workers from Balochistan person been forcibly disappeared and nary Pakistani tribunal oregon mainstream governmental enactment is funny successful their plight.

So however travel Imran Khan, contempt facing dozens of charges, is inactive roaming free? The cognition is that helium has polarised the constitution itself. There are officers and their families wrong the service who are enamoured by him. There is the judiciary which has been extending his bail. After spending 1 time successful a lock-up, Pakistan's highest justice called him to court, said "happy to spot you", and enactment him successful a authorities impermanent house. The adjacent time different justice released him.

Imran Khan has won implicit a monolithic constituency successful Pakistan which abhorred authorities and politicians earlier helium came along. His connection of cleanable governance and justness has fashionable entreaty - though erstwhile Khan was successful powerfulness corruption really accrued successful Pakistan and helium enactment galore of his governmental opponents successful jail. But his removal from powerfulness has emboldened his supporters, galore of whom are women and young radical who person ne'er voted earlier and ne'er attended a governmental rally. They are often accused of governmental naivety, taking an ahistorical presumption of the existent situation and claiming that what is happening present has ne'er happened successful the past of Pakistan. They see themselves portion of a reformist question that wants to escaped the state of each corrupt politicians. Like Khan, they erstwhile loved the army. Now they clasp the service liable for everything.

Despite Khan's repeated attacks connected the service leadership, galore judge that helium doesn't truly privation to curtail the army's powers, helium conscionable wants the generals to emotion and enactment him and his enactment similar they did before.

But successful the aftermath of the riots connected 9 May, the service precocious bid seems to deliberation that capable is enough. The existent service main has called it a "black time successful the past of Pakistan".

Imran Khan mightiness person ushered successful a caller benignant of populist authorities successful Pakistan, but the service is utilizing the aforesaid playbook to bring him down that it has utilized against his predecessors. Dozens of corruption cases, wide arrests and a wide connection that by attacking the army, it's Khan who has crossed the reddish line. The service has besides tried to triumph hearts and minds by releasing a opus celebrating service martyrs and celebrating a "respect for martyrs" time successful effect to the attacks connected subject installations connected 9 May. (Critics constituent retired that nary soldiers were martyred that day, conscionable a posh mansion ransacked by an aggravated crowd.) Main roads successful the large cities are lined with posters praising the service and pledging eternal loyalty. The service has besides brought into play spiritual parties that had attacked it successful the past - they were retired connected the streets past week, declaring their emotion for the army.

Pakistan's service is besides looking wrong its ain ranks for Khan sympathisers. One pistillate that instrumentality enforcement agencies were pursuing for her alleged engagement successful the 9 May riots is the manner decorator turned governmental activistic Khadija Shah - who is besides the granddaughter of a erstwhile service main and a third-generation cantonment child. She denies immoderate committing immoderate crime, but it's wide Khan has mesmerised immoderate of the "army brats" to specified an grade that they are consenting to acceptable their ain location connected fire. By arresting Shah and putting her down bars, the service has sent a wide awesome to service families to enactment distant from Khan's politics.

The service has besides tried to dismantle Khan's PTI enactment done wide arrests and by deciding to clasp subject trials of workers and leaders who were progressive successful cantonment attacks. Many of Khan's elder enactment leaders are nether immense unit to permission his PTI party. Some person left, claiming that they can't condone Khan's confrontational attack towards the Pakistan army.

Historically, Pakistan's service has ever managed to person its mode erstwhile confronted with civilians. Imran Khan has asked his workers to take decease implicit a beingness of slavery. In this deadlock, it's the mean Pakistanis who person suffered - and proceed to suffer.

British-Pakistani writer and writer Mohammed Hanif is the erstwhile caput of the BBC's Urdu service, and the writer of respective plays and novels, including the award-winning A Case of Exploding Mangoes and Our Lady of Alice Bhatti.