>BEFORE HE EVEN MENTIONED THE US INVOLVEMENT, he held a number of political rallies, in the last week of his premiership. One such rally resulted in A MILLION PEOPLE coming to Islamabad.
It just means his base is rabid, not exactly that he's popular.
I don't think you quite understand what the term "popular" actually means.
"Rabid", in the context that you're using it, applies really well to those who keep trying to push a consistent narrative of:
- nothing to see here, move on
- just a few agitated locals, who can't count past 10
- the generals are really good chaps at heart
- don't mind the fact that they are kidnapping politicians & journalists in broad daylight, and subjecting them to CIA-inspired Abu Ghraib style torture
- none of the above in any way confirms that this "deep state" has lost control, and is continuously escalating as it gets continuously desperate
Yes, "rabid" does cover that.
On the other hand, attracting millions to your rallies, winning by-elections in a landslide DESPITE intensive vote-rigging against you, breaking all sorts of viewership records across all platforms (including tagspaces and twitter trends) ...
It just means his base is rabid, not exactly that he's popular.