At dusk on 9 May, small groups of demonstrators, both men and women, converged on the Sharhah-e-Faisal freeway, the main artery of the economic and financial capital Karachi. Some had bamboo canes and seemed fired up for a clash with police; others had brought their families. That morning, former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan had been arrested in Islamabad on corruption charges, bringing his supporters onto the streets, with violence breaking out in major cities across the country. Protesters in Karachi said they were sickened by what they saw as a conspiracy against the only man who could put the country back on its feet and end corruption.
Between salvoes of tear gas, supporters of Khan’s party, Tehrik-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice, PTI), shouted anti-army slogans that left no doubt as to their views: ‘The real terrorists are the ones in uniform!’ The most determined protesters planned to attack the local army corps commander’s residence, a symbol of military power.
Though the police were able to stop that attack, things went differently in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and wealthiest province and the army’s main recruiting ground. In Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s fourth-largest city, PTI supporters attacked the army headquarters; in Lahore, they vandalised the army corps commander’s residence and set it on fire. The censors banned Pakistani TV channels from showing the riots, but footage was widely shared on social media before being blocked.
Crisis strengthens the army
Never in Pakistan’s turbulent history had the army been targeted so directly, and in the next few days there was widespread fear of escalation. Khan is thought still to have supporters in the army, and rumours of mutiny spread, feeding fears of civil war. The world’s fifth most populous country and only Muslim state with nuclear weapons seemed on the edge of the abyss.
Though the May crisis shook the army, Pakistan’s most powerful institution, it (...)
