An accountability court recently rejected pleas filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, seeking acquittal in the £190 million corruption case under the amended National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
The case, nearing conclusion, could see both facing new prison terms, after they secured bails or acquittals in previous convictions, ensuring they remain incarcerated in the immediate future. Additionally, Khan’s party is currently apprehensive about proposed constitutional amendments, which it claims are aimed at banning the party and trying the former prime minister in military court over the May 9, 2023 riots. While an incarcerated former prime minister is hardly unique in Pakistan, it is unfortunate that history is repeating itself with yet another popular leader.
Some observers maintain Imran Khan’s fall from grace started with his official visit to Russia on Feb. 23, 2022, when he became the Pakistani prime minister to visit Moscow in 23 years. The meeting triggered global controversy as it coincided with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Two months later, Khan was ousted in a vote of no-confidence that he has alternately blamed on the U.S., the military establishment and “treasonous” opposition. While there is little to support Khan’s allegations, his firebrand rhetoric was sufficient to secure him public sympathy, which played out on the streets and in public gatherings through his arrest in August 2023.
An unfortunate, but predictable, side effect of the PTI’s narrative was the strains it put on Pakistan’s ties with the U.S. The U.S., it must be recalled, had maintained a relatively strong relationship with Pakistan throughout the Cold War, helping Islamabad train Afghan fighters in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The ties suffered subsequently before rebounding during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and then backsliding once more after the U.S. exit from the region. Referring to this hot-and-cold approach, Khan claimed Washington was displeased with his attempts to broker positive ties with China and Russia. This, however, was not enough for discourage him from seeking support of the same U.S. when he faced legal troubles in Pakistan.
Khan’s sorry tale highlights the core problem every Pakistani leader faces sooner or later. To become a prime minister in the country, you must not only be popular, but also “acceptable”; to global powers and the security establishment alike. Many believe the PTI founder’s core problem is this lack of acceptability, as his policies alienated Islamabad’s traditional allies, while failing to secure fresh partnerships the country sorely needs. At the end of the day, Pakistan remains a developing nation that is heavily reliant on the U.S. and Europe as export markets and keeping them on side is essential for economic stability. Failing to keep them on side was a miscalculation that continues to haunt the PTI and Khan.