This story is part of Undertones, Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory's newsletter. Find out more about our mission, methodology, and publicly available data. Subscribe to Undertones. Pakistan is reeling from the most devastating floods in its history while it also battles with political instability following the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this year. In this context, a rare trend continues to gain strength on Twitter: the proliferation of anti-army hashtags, memes, and op-eds. Khan supporters, journalists, lawyers, civil society actors, and the public at large are openly discussing the role of the military in politics. This is an unexpected occurrence in Pakistan, as any criticism of the country’s powerful military is met with censorship and arrests. Despite the state’s repression of this behavior, Khan supporters are generating thousands of tweets, calling for Army chief General Bajwa to resign after ostensibly meddling in politics and orchestrating Khan's ouster in April 2022. Popular hashtags are #باجوہ_استعفی_دو (“#Bajwa resign” in Urdu) and #GoBajwaGo. Ever since Pakistan gained independence in 1947 — after its partition from India — the state has oscillated between military rule and short-lived democratic governments. Throughout the decades, the military has prized itself on being a stable institution that is able to protect the country from neighboring threats, particularly from India. International military rankings, which place Pakistan among the ten most powerful militaries in the world, are often proudly evoked in the local press. A large number of Pakistanis see the military’s control over politics to be irrefutable, and until now, not many have dared to voice their criticisms out loud. Despite some growing discontent over his economic governance, Imran Khan has remained popular in Pakistan. Yet, on April 10, 2022, Pakistan’s parliament ousted Khan in a no-confidence vote after a few of his allies flipped allegiance. Many analysts and Khan supporters see the military as the primary actor who orchestrated his deposition. According to Khan, he was a victim of an “international conspiracy.” For decades, top generals were blamed for meddling in politics. Imran Khan, a former cricket champion, was brought in as their latest prodigy in 2018 but their “same-page” politics eventually fell out of line. Khan’s influence grew by tapping into religious conservatism, anti-corruption narratives, and anti-U.S. sentiment. For many analysts and critics, Khan is a populist who has successfully further polarized the country and muzzled the press. For Khan’s supporters, he is an honest leader fighting corruption and U.S. interference. Now that Khan has been replaced by a coalition of opposition members, he is vociferously campaigning against the army’s “lack of neutrality,” taking his supporters with him. He is also blaming the U.S. for this regime change. Although criticism of the army had been initiated earlier, Khan took the narrative further and emboldened his followers to follow suit. Now, thousands are openly criticizing the military – a first in Pakistan’s history. Yet, it does not come without consequences; the government has retaliated by arresting several activists. Despite the crackdown, the trend continues to gain visibility online. Khan supporters are relentlessly tagging the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media wing on Twitter, condemning its “unneutral” stance on politics and for enabling the ouster at the behest of the US government, parroting Khan’s narratives. Criticism of Pakistan’s powerful military has always been voiced in hushed tones, but since the ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan back in April, Pandora’s box has been flung open. Anti-army hashtags, with tens of thousands of tweets, run daily on social media platforms, defying the reprisal of state agencies. Not all tweets against the military are born equal. Our researchers have ranked some positively based on their impact on civic society, while not others. Most users share the narrative “Pakistan's military must stop meddling in the country's politics,” while others are spreading Khan’s incendiary line: “Imran Khan was ousted by a foreign conspiracy.” Some media items are reflective and insightful op-eds, like this in-depth essay by lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed exploring the military’s role in Pakistani politics. He explains how the military's protégé led to further polarization in Pakistan and also discusses how the courts and the military escape accountability for their political meddling by using the “neutral” card. Our researchers have positively ranked this media item’s impact on society by giving it the Observatory’s top score (+3) for its quality of information.