All eyes are on Imran Khan.

It is quite remarkable how, whenever he has a chance, Khan makes everything about himself. It is even more remarkable that everyone also makes everything about him.

The more the system tries to pretend it is ignoring him, and the more it insists that he has lost relevance, the more he – strangely enough – continues to be the frame of reference for all matters political.

Take Gen Faiz, for instance.

Since his conviction this week, the question echoing across the land is not what happens to him – that is of secondary concern – the real question is: what happens to Khan. The tantalisingly dangerous last paragraph of the ISPR press release announcing Gen Faiz's sentencing has hinted clearly enough that the former DG ISI's role in the May 9 riots is a matter under active investigation, and is expected to figure prominently in his legal troubles in the days ahead. But the very fact that the press release made a mention of this indicates that the political side of his role will also entangle those who benefited from him. The statement did not need to name the beneficiary. It is clear enough.

What is less clear is how far the system is willing to go to take down Faiz and Khan? The answer to this question, dare one say, will suggest whether we are heading into a Zia-Bhutto moment, or a Musharraf-Nawaz one.

The past, howsoever haunted, can........

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