- Published
Schools closed.
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Schools → publish → ?
The internet partially shut.
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internet → shut → ?
Roads blocked by shipping containers.
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Roads → block → containers
And the army arriving in town.
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army → arrive → town
Imran Khan's party stronghold, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is under a state of emergency, his party's provincial government suspended.
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government → suspend → emergency
It's another dramatic escalation in the standoff between the former prime minister's supporters and Pakistan's state - and one that some fear could lead to more instability, not less.
uncertain
It → fear → instability
According to the federal government this step, allowed by the constitution, was needed to provide protection for the province's population from the threat of terror.
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step → accord → terror
"The PTI KPK government was hand in glove with the terrorists," Attah Tarrar, federal information minister, told journalists on Sunday.
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Tarrar → tell → Sunday
He did not elaborate or provide evidence, but promised to do so soon.
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He → elaborate → evidence
Two days later there had still been no update from him - but schools had reopened in Peshawar and most parts of the province, and internet services had been restored.
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services → reopen → province
While police would not confirm any detentions, there is clearly a crackdown under way to prevent protests.
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police → confirm → protests
Most PTI leaders in the province have gone into hiding.
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leaders → go → hiding
On Tuesday dozens of PTI supporters took to the streets in Bara, Khyber district, hometown of provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
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dozens → take → Afridi
For the last week, thousands of Imran Khan's supporters have marched through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI have been in power for 13 years, demanding Khan's release.
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PTI → march → release
"The charitable response would be to say that it sounded disingenuous," says Farzana Sheikh, associate fellow at Chatham House.
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Sheikh → say → House
"I do not see the link with terrorism," says Arifa Noor, journalist and commentator.
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Noor → see → terrorism
"I'm not even sure if it was the long march itself [that led to this].
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that → lead → this
Perhaps it was the last straw or perhaps it's just a case of saying, we don't want to deal with the government being in the hands of an opposition party."
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government → say → party
The protests were led by Chief Minister Afridi, whose whereabouts are still a mystery.
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whereabouts → lead → Afridi
His party says he has been arrested; the government says that he is in protective custody.
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he → say → custody
Before the march had begun, there had been a crackdown.
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march → begin → ?
Three of Khan's sisters were arrested in September, accused among other things of mobilising supporters, and have been detained ever since.
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Three → arrest → supporters
Khan has barely been seen by his family or lawyers in the last year; two of his sisters saw him in August, one in prison, another as he was checked over at a hospital visit after concerns were raised by the Supreme Court about his health, before he was returned behind bars again where he has been held for more than three years.
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he → see → years
The PTI leader, who is widely believed to have lost power because of a rift with Pakistan's powerful military, has been imprisoned since August 2023.
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who → believe → August
He is convicted in several corruption cases which he says are politically motivated.
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he → convict → cases
With the party already weakened, why this reaction from the authorities?
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party → weaken → authorities
"The PTI rank and file has been becoming increasingly restless in recent months amid growing concerns about Imran Khan's health," says Michael Kugelman, senior South Asia fellow at the Atlantic Council.
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Kugelman → become → Council
"There is a sense that perhaps now is the time to send a very strong message to the party and make it more difficult for them to be able to put pressure on the government.
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them → be → government
The government has previously argued that Khan was going against jail rules by using his meetings to discuss politics.
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Khan → argue → politics
Tarar has said of the state of emergency: "There was no political agenda.
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Tarar → say → emergency
They could have gone on with their march," and pointed to the talks the two sides had in the run-up to the decision as an indicator that they did try discussion.
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they → go → discussion
But others see this as just another attempt to restrict Khan and his party.
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others → see → Khan
"The government has less and less space for disagreements or dissent and they do not want to negotiate their way out of any kind of conflict," Noor says.
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Noor → have → conflict
Zahid Hussain, Islamabad-based author and defence analyst, is clear about who is behind the decision.
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who → base → decision
"The balance of power is completely shifted to the military establishment," he says.
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he → shift → establishment
Sheikh thinks that Pakistan's military is feeling confident because it believes it has a good relationship with the White House, its international credentials burnished by their role in the US-Iran peace talks.
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credentials → think → talks
"The mode is very much, this is the moment, let's seize it," she says.
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she → let → it
"There is a sense that, we have all the cards in our hands.
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we → be → hands
We can ride this out internationally.
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We → ride → this
But Pakistan has plenty to contend with.
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Pakistan → have → plenty
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
