.... Yet Khan’s apparent attempt to find a middle ground has left many dissatisfied. Soon after the announcement of Bibi’s acquittal, he gave a speech that – given his history of appeasing more extreme elements – surprised many in its stridency.
In it, he supported the supreme court’s verdict and referred to protesters as “enemies of the state”. Yet in the days that followed, as protests closed off major motorways and caused businesses and schools to shutter, Khan and his inner circle appeared to vacillate. Reports emerged that in negotiations with the TLP, the anti-blasphemy group orchestrating the protests, Khan agreed to allow a court to review the acquittal, and to work to prevent Bibi from leaving the country.
.... Khan is far from being the first prime minister in Pakistan to pander to the conservative religious lobby, but this does not make it any less worrying. “If a government does not stand by the decisions of the apex court, the country cannot survive,” Khan said over the weekend.
Yet these words are empty if they go alongside a willingness to cede ground to groups representing a bigoted and intolerant mindset that explicitly seeks to override the rule of law. [Guardian Cif] Read more
