The wrath of Khan

WHEN Nawaz Sharif won a landslide election victory last year, many dared hope that Pakistan was entering a new, democratic era free of turmoil on the streets and of meddling generals. The election was a milestone, the first time in the country’s history that one democratically elected government handed over to another. Even Mr Sharif’s defeated opponents in the Pakistan Peoples Party were proud to be the first civilian administration to last out a full five-year term.

Alas, not everybody on Pakistan’s political scene has concluded that repeatedly interrupting the democratic process retards national progress. Imran Khan, a former playboy cricketer turned demagogue politician, is preparing to lay siege to the capital, Islamabad, with an army of supporters. Mr Khan’s aides liken the gambit to the prolonged demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011; his aim is to bring down the government. The push was due to begin on August 14th, independence day.