Imran Khan is trying every trick in the book to stay in power

IF IMRAN KHAN’S opponents hoped their push to unseat him would move at the blistering pace of a Twenty20 cricket match, the Pakistani prime minister has instead dragged them into the slog of a five-day Test. Tension had been building as Mr Khan’s precariously ruling coalition frayed. It looked as if enough defectors had joined the opposition to bring down his government in a no-confidence vote in Pakistan’s National Assembly on April 3rd. But the prime minister, who captained Pakistan’s triumph in the 1992 World Cup cricket final, bowled a googly. He declared the bid to unseat him a foreign conspiracy, dodged the floor vote, dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections.