It was only a matter of time before the army sprang into action and did something about all the nonsense that PTI diehards have been amplifying about it on social media and in street protests. From the looks of things, PTI’s main problem with the military is that it suddenly became neutral and just stood aside as the party’s government was wrapped up and sent home. And, to add insult to injury, it did not play along when PTI thought it was a smart idea to stretch facts and conjure up a grand international conspiracy to remove it from power. It even turned its guns on the judiciary when the supreme court called out its Apr3 manoeuvre for what it was – “unconstitutional”. And so we have an increasing number of people that are simply unable to digest the fact that their leader has been constitutionally and legally removed from power and they have no qualms about dragging the country’s foremost institutions into the mess just so they don’t have to move back from their own stand. Surely this standoff borders on the ridiculous because at stake is not just the smooth running of the government, but also the lives of millions upon millions of people which will be ruined unless something dramatic is done to turn the economy around. And no such thing can be done when one party is willing to go to the extent of maligning important state institutions just because it suits its desperate narrative to do so at this point. It won’t be long, though, before the truth about PTI’s alleged conspiracy comes to light. The fact that Imran Khan and his lieutenants have started rubbishing the investigation ordered by PM Shahbaz Sharif, even before it’s begun its work, speaks volumes about the kind of case that PTI is building. And while no time should be wasted in exposing a conspiracy if one indeed exists, it does seem that in this particular case the former ruling party is not just living in an alternate reality but also playing with fire by mobilising thousands of people around an unconfirmed charge; especially one that apparently stands on very flimsy evidence. How this strategy is better than sitting on opposition benches and critiquing the government where necessary is very difficult to understand, especially since the army is now also moving to put a lid on the charade on the streets. *