Leaders | Soldiers, go home

Pakistan’s perma-crisis

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s most popular politician, must be free to contest timely elections

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, gestures as he speaks to the members of the media at his residence in Lahore, Pakistan May 18, 2023.
Image: Reuters

Imran Khan was a terrible prime minister. In office from 2018-2022, the Pakistani cricket star turned populist leader appointed corrupt ministers, locked up his opponents and hounded the press. As Pakistanis rapidly went off him, he peddled desperate anti-American conspiracy theories. Had his government limped on to the general election due later this year, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party would probably have been trounced.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Soldiers, go home”

From the June 3rd 2023 edition

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