Pakistan is no stranger to political upheaval. But the explosion of rage on its streets since the arrest of the former prime minister, Imran Khan, earlier this week suggests that the country could be standing at a crossroads. Many Pakistani prime ministers have been to jail and, in each case, their supporters have come out in protest. What is different this time is the target of the protests: Pakistan’s military establishment. The Pakistani army, which has been the pre-eminent force in the country for most of its history, has seen its garrisons and the lavish bungalows of its senior commanders ransacked and set on fire by thousands of supporters of Mr Khan. That they did not face more fierce resistance initially set off speculation over whether the military was laying the grounds for a broader crackdown, including a potential ban on Mr Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Yet, as the protests have grown, so have the arrests: the army is now out on the streets to stop the protests. The country’s government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has largely switched off the internet. Meanwhile, Mr Khan has claimed he was beaten with sticks after he was arrested. Significantly, on Thursday evening, Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared his arrest illegal.

Until a year ago, Mr Khan was in power because of a trusting relationship with the military, doing what he now accuses the current government of doing: locking up political opponents. Then, after a fallout with the army leadership, he was forced out of the prime minister’s chair. Again, that is a script that has played out repeatedly in Pakistan. But this was then followed by a twist in the tale. Instead of quietly trying to get back into the army’s good books, as others have done, Mr Khan challenged what in Pakistan is known simply as the ‘Establishment’. That he has kept up the pressure on the army, allowed his supporters to openly take on powerful generals, and has only grown in popularity on the street reveal a sharp shift in the public mood in a nation where, traditionally, only the military has enjoyed broad credibility. Now the men in khaki stand challenged in a way they have not been for decades. In the past, they have eventually triumphed in the face of domestic political challenges. But Mr Khan is unlike any other opponent they have faced. Whatever happens, the future of Pakistan is being written right now.