PTI chief Imran Khan is almost revealing a new conspiracy every rally. At Sialkot, alongside his usual tirades against the iniquities of the state institutions that saw him removed from office, he added another to the conspiracies against him. While the theme of a foreign conspiracy against him has grown familiar, he has added to it the conspiracy to kill him. The only measure he has taken, he told the rally, was to record a message on a video to be released after his being killed, detailing who the conspirators are. This means that he has claimed the halo of a martyr without actually having gone through the painful experience of being assassinated.
As a responsible citizen, one still has sufficient trust in the state’s institutions to practice the essentially peaceful and democratic politics of rallies, sit-ins and elections and would go to the police. Mr Khan’s reluctance to do so says little good about his years in office. Still, as a former PM, and more important, a responsible citizen, he should bring whatever he knows to the attention of such institutions as are responsible for such assessments. It is only in B-grade spy movies that the very institution dedicated to providing security is penetrated by the baddies.
Mr Khan should realize that Pakistan has had a sitting PM and an ex-PM shot, and another ex-PM hanged. It cannot afford another tragedy. Political capital out of such serious matters is in poor taste, and the government should not wait. Mr Khan’s security must be beefed up, and he be made to share the information he has obtained, presumably over and above the agencies responsible for such matters. Considering how explosive the political situation has become, in no small measure because of Mr Khan’s own incendiary rhetoric, not even an attempt of any kind can be afforded, let alone any untoward happening. The government should note that it can afford such a tragedy even less than the PTI.
