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Imran Khan has started a dangerous effort to mobilize the public’s support against renowned generals who are in charge of Pakistan’s most influential institution since he was forced out as prime minister in April. The stakes for all parties have been significantly raised by a plot to assassinate him on Thursday. After being wounded in the leg while leading a march toward the capital Islamabad to seek an early national election—which isn’t scheduled to take place until later next year—Khan, 70, was in stable condition. His party promptly placed the blame on both Shehbaz Sharif, his successor as prime minister, and a member of the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, which is in charge of Pakistan’s internal security.
Sharif swiftly denounced the incident, which left one person dead and seven others wounded, and extended an offer of support to the local authorities in charge of the inquiry. However, a groundswell of support for Khan on social media and in cities throughout the nation is only going to increase the pressure on the prime minister and the military, which has directly administered Pakistan for almost half of the time since the country’s independence from Britain in 1947.
Khan has showed no signs of giving up as he seeks to retake control of the country with the fifth-highest population in the world, and the shooting is only likely to hone his assaults on the senior generals he holds responsible for his overthrow. The former cricket star has had success mobilising the populace to his cause, winning significant by-elections last month while contending with a number of legal matters that might disqualify him from running in the next national election and perhaps land him in jail.
According to historical precedent, Khan has little chance of winning re-election in Pakistan, where no prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term. Benazir Bhutto, who was slain at a campaign stop in an incident identical to the one on Khan on Thursday, was one of several leaders who lasted longer than two years before being either banished or dead.
The shooting also makes it more difficult for the military establishment to make decisions, given it supported Khan’s ascension to power in 2018 until parting ways with him last year. Any more assaults on Khan or efforts to prevent him from voting in the next election will draw attention to generals who would rather remain unnoticed despite exercising enormous influence over both internal and international policy.
