Going by Pakistan’s history, the removal of a prime minister was nothing unusual. In fact, in the South Asian country’s 75-year history, not a single premier has managed to complete a five-year term.
When Khan became prime minister in 2018, his critics claimed he was propped up by the military, which has directly ruled Pakistan for more than three decades and “constantly meddled” in the country’s politics, according to the former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Since April last year, though, Khan has repeatedly targeted the same military and Bajwa in particular as the key figures behind his removal from power. In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, Khan said a lesson he learned from his ouster was that he should not have “trusted the army chief”.
The military once upon a time used to have an iron grip on the political narrative, but Islamabad-based political analyst Arifa Noor said she believes the army now is not “as strong as it used to be”.
“The class in Pakistan that used to legitimise military coups has now shifted its support to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [Khan’s political party],” she said. “Traditionally, the people that were in favour of military intervention in politics are now questioning it because they shifted their support to Imran Khan, and that perhaps is one of the reasons the military seems to be weak.”
Kamran Bokhari, a senior director at New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, DC, said that while the Pakistani military still commands significant control over Pakistan’s politics, it is also under tremendous pressure.
“Khan is the only former political proxy that has been able to appropriate the military’s narrative and its discursive modus operandi to his advantage,” Bokhari told Al Jazeera.
In January last year, a few months before Khan’s removal, a survey by the Gallup research agency revealed that Khan’s popularity had dipped to its lowest level at 36 percent while 41 percent of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction with his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
A year out of power, however, has seen Khan’s popularity skyrocket. His party won 28 out of 37 by-elections held in July, and another Gallup survey in February showed his approval rating at 61 percent.
For many observers, the changing demographics of Pakistan, where close to 40 percent of the population is between the ages of 13 and 40, coupled with a rapidly urbanising society have played a major role in Khan’s increasing popularity.
Noor said the young people entering the electorate are looking for a change.
“Young people want change, and they see that change in Imran Khan. He has made a lot of mistakes in the past one year, but it doesn’t matter. None of it seems to stick because the other side is what is making him popular,” she said, referring to the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to some economists, Sharif took office after Khan’s government had taken policy decisions that left “a minefield” for the new administration.
But the current government’s economic policies, exacerbated by last year’s catastrophic floods, have left Pakistan on the brink of a default.
Inflation has soared to more than 35 percent, the highest ever recorded, while Pakistan’s foreign reserves have shrunk to less than $5bn, enough to cover just a little more than five weeks of imports.
By June 2026, Pakistan also needs to repay $77.5bn in external
