Asia | On the back foot

Pakistan’s government wields anti-terror laws against Imran Khan

The former prime minister has made powerful enemies since he was booted from office in April

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, AUGUST 22: Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gather outside his residence in Islamabad, Pakistan, on August 22, 2022. Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against Imran Khan over comments he made in a speech at the weekend, stoking political tensions as the former prime ministerâs loyalists vow to resist efforts to arrest him. (Photo by Muhammad Reza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
|ISLAMABAD

It looked, for a brief period earlier this year, as though Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, was history. Ousted in a vote of no confidence in April after falling out with the country’s powerful army, Mr Khan took to rabble-rousing in the streets. But he has been regaling his supporters with fantastical conspiracy theories, which seems to have worked. The rallies have allowed him to stage a remarkable comeback, winning a slew of important by-elections—including in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province—and eclipsing Shehbaz Sharif, his successor as prime minister, in popularity.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Imran on the back foot”

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