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Pakistan's Imran Khan won praise for his stance against religious hardliners Thursday, as demonstrators blocked major roads to protest the Supreme Court's overturning of a blasphemy conviction.
Khan has vowed to confront extremists who called for the assassination of the country? S Supreme Court justices, and for mutiny against the army? S top brass, after the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman on death row for blasphemy.
"We will protect people's lives and lives, we will not allow any sabotage," Khan said in a nationally televised address Wednesday.
Blasphemy is a massively inflammatory load in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insulting Islam and its Prophet Muhammad can provoke death at the hands of vigilantes.
Khan's speech drew praise across social media, including those formally critical of the prime minister.
Prominent journalist Mosharraf Zaidi hailed a "remarkable speech" and a column in the English daily Dawn said Khan had taken "an unequivocal and strong line on religious bigotry and hatred that we have seen in almost two decades".
"Prime Minister Imran Khan was admirably encouraged in this regard," said the English-language news, "which is a criticism of the PM.
Others, however, highlighted the prime minister's mixed record on the subject of controversy around blasphemy issues in Pakistan.
"Fahadabad dharna," tweeted Balal Haider, referring to Khan's silence during similar anti-blasphemy protests last year.
There was no indication that they were preparing for the protection of the population in the cities of Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.
The demonstrations are largely led by the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) party, which is known for its hardline stance on blasphemy issues.
TLP, founded in 2015, blockaded the capital Islamabad for several weeks last year for the strict enforcement of Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws.
2.23 million votes in the general election, in what analysts called a "surprisingly" rapid rise.
The party's chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi has also been vowed to "wipe Holland off the face of the earth" over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad if TLP was able to secure power of the nuclear-armed country.
The protests come as Khan prepares to depart for China, where he will likely to deteriorate finances.
Pakistani religious hardliners had called for the murder of the country's Supreme Court justices after the acquittal of a christian woman on death row for blasphemy
