Clearly, there is something happening in Pakistan that nobody is able to put a finger on. His followers are openly threatening violence. He has hinted that a revolution is coming and that it remained to be seen whether it will come through a ballot box or through bloodshed.
Instead of backing down after it became clear that the military top brass was livid with him, Imran has upped the ante. With Imran now marching on Islamabad with his Long March to press his demand for an early general election, which he is convinced he will sweep, the stage is set for a showdown. The presser might have impressed Imran’s detractors or even scared some of the fence sitters, but has done little to dampen the enthusiasm, even fanaticism of Imran’s cult. Attempts by the Army to recoup lost image and ground-the unprecedented press conference of the ISI chief is one example-have failed miserably in either reining in Imran or convincing his supporters to desert him.
Imran has been mobilising people, who are thronging his rallies and cocking a snook at the military establishment. All the Pakistan Army’s traditional intimidation and pressure tactics have come a cropper. Completely nonplussed by Imran’s no-holds barred assault, the military doesn’t know how to respond. He is openly daring the top brass, calling them names, equating them with traitors, accusing them of sinister conspiracies to unseat him, and unleashing his troll armies to demolish the military’s image. For the first time in living memory, a political leader has challenged the might of not only the Pakistani state but also of the Pakistan Army and for the first time, the mighty Pakistan Army is in a funk, not knowing how to respond to the gauntlet thrown by the Khan.
Like him or lampoon him, Imran Khan has shaken up Pakistan’s power dynamics like never before. Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology.
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