FOR WEEKS the news in Pakistan has been dominated by a to-and-fro(反复拉扯、来回折腾) over whether Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party would be allowed to stage(举行、发动（抗议等）) a protest for its jailed hero. Supporters of the cricketer turned prime minister(从板球运动员转型的总理) have issued rallying cries(战斗口号、集结号) to show their undying loyalty. Ministers have responded with menace(威胁、恐吓). In Islamabad, the capital, authorities have blocked the roads with more than 2,000 shipping containers—some studded with nails.(在首都伊斯兰堡，当局用两千多个集装箱封堵道路——有些还钉满了钉子。) At entry points to the city, bus-loads of truncheon-wielding(手持警棍的) policemen grin at frustrated motorists.
数周以来，巴基斯坦的新闻一直被一件事反复拉扯：伊姆兰·汗的正义运动党（PTI）能否为其身陷囹圄的领袖举行抗议活动。这位从板球运动员转型为总理的人物，其支持者高喊口号，以示不渝的忠诚。部长们则以威胁回应。在首都伊斯兰堡，当局用两千多个集装箱封堵道路——有些还钉满了钉子。在入城路口，一车车手持警棍的警察对着焦躁的司机们咧嘴而笑。
After talks between the PTI and the government ended in stalemate(陷入僵局), the march eventually got going on October 4th. Around 5,000 of Mr Khan’s supporters set off(出发、启程) from Lakki Marwat, 275km west of Islamabad in the PTI-run province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They hoped to pick up more supporters along the way, but have not yet decided whether to march on(向……进军) the capital. The whole circus(闹剧、混乱场面) will go on.
PTI与政府的谈判陷入僵局后，游行终于在10月4日启动。约五千名汗先生的支持者从拉基马尔瓦特出发，该地位于伊斯兰堡以西275公里，属于PTI执政的开伯尔-普什图省。他们希望沿途吸纳更多支持者，但尚未决定是否向首都进军。这场闹剧还将继续。
Look deeper, and another struggle for power is under way(正在进行中). While Mr Khan commands attention, the man who put him behind bars(把他送进监狱) is plotting his next move. Field Marshal(陆军元帅（最高军衔）) Asim Munir, Pakistan’s de facto(实际上的) ruler, plans to redraw(重新划定) the country’s political map by creating new provinces. What sounds like a dry administrative change is anything but(绝不是、远非). It would break up the fief(地盘、势力范围)s in which Pakistan’s dynastic(世袭的、王朝式的) political parties have built their power. Whether the field marshal gets his way on this will be a test of his dominance.(这位元帅能否在这件事上如愿，将是对其主导地位的一次考验。)
往深处看，另一场权力斗争正在进行。当汗先生吸引着众人目光时，把他送进监狱的那个人正在谋划下一步。巴基斯坦的实际统治者、陆军元帅阿西姆·穆尼尔计划通过设立新省份来重划国家政治版图。这听起来像是一项枯燥的行政改革，实则远非如此。它将瓦解巴基斯坦各世袭政党赖以建立权力的地盘。这位元帅能否在这件事上如愿，将是对其主导地位的一次考验。
