Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Khan’s murky political future in Pakistan

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Reuters

Pakistan’s dysfunctional politics took another turn on Tuesday when an appeals court suspended former PM Imran Khan’s sentence and three-year jail term for allegedly selling state gifts during his tenure. However, that same court has not overturned that conviction and will decide on whether to set it aside at a later, unspecified date.

Quick background. Khan, the former cricket sensation turned populist politician, was imprisoned earlier this month on graft charges that he says are politically motivated. He was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, which set the streets on fire. Indeed, polls show that he remains the most popular leader in the country.


The former PM says that the all-powerful military – backed by the US – is behind efforts to block him from power.

Still, Khan, who faces a host of other charges that he denies, has not been released because he faces another hearing on Wednesday related to charges that he revealed state secrets when he waved a government document in the air at a political rally.

So what happens now? Under state law, Khan, who has been banned from running for public office for five years, can only run in Pakistan’s election, set for November, if his criminal convictions are overturned. But this latest decision, which likely allows him to get out of jail while his appeal makes its way through the courts, gives little indication that things are heading that way.

More For You

Sanae Takaichi has the power to change Japan
When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called snap elections last month, it was a big gamble. Holding a winter election just four months into her tenure with no real policy record to run on? Staking her sky-high approval ratings – then hovering around 70% – on an untested bet that personal popularity would translate into seats? The [...]
​February 11, 2026, Dhaka, Bangladesh: February 11, 2026 Dhaka, Bangladesh: Ansar and VDP memberrs carried ballot boxes in Dhaka, They were preparing for the polling stations on then eve of day before Bangladesh's national election.

February 11, 2026, Dhaka, Bangladesh: February 11, 2026 Dhaka, Bangladesh: Ansar and VDP memberrs carried ballot boxes in Dhaka, They were preparing for the polling stations on then eve of day before Bangladesh's national election.

Credit Image: © KM Asad/ZUMA Press Wire
In Bangladesh, toppling the regime may have only been half the battle. On Thursday, the country will have its first competitive election since 2009. Voters will determine whether the uprising that ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, kicking off a wave of Gen Z-led protests in Asia, can transform Bangladeshi politics, or whether [...]
​US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Yerevan, Armenia, February 10, 2026.

US Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance hold flowers as they walk towards the eternal flame at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial, in Yerevan, Armenia, February 10, 2026.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool
1.5 million: The number of Armenians killed by Ottoman Turkss during World War I, per one estimate, in what historians consider to be a genocide. Why mention this now? US Vice President JD Vance visited a memorial to the mass killing in Yerevan on Tuesday. His office then posted about it on social media, before deleting it. The reversal may have [...]
​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference after meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv on Feb. 5, 2026.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a press conference after meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv on Feb. 5, 2026.

Kyodo
Zelensky to hold election and war referendum, per reportIn a major political pivot, Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly plans to hold presidential elections alongside a referendum on any peace agreement with Russia. The move comes after mounting pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has signaled that the US security guarantees to Ukraine are [...]