A former cricket star turned Islamist politician, Imran Khan triumphed on an anti-corruption, anti-establishment platform in the 2018 election to form a coalition government. But his premiership was problematic as his administration cracked down on opposition figures. Some said that religious minorities came under attack because of his concessions to radical clerics; his critics and rights groups said he failed to protect freedom of speech.

Khan, 71, also drew nationwide condemnation after seemingly blaming a rise in sexual violence on women “wearing very few clothes.” On the international stage, he berated the United States as ungrateful for Pakistan’s help in fighting global terror, and called al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, killed in a 2011 U.S. raid in Pakistan, a “martyr” — an honorable term for someone slain in battle.

Khan was ultimately ousted by parliament in April 2022, a move he tried to fight with street protests and claimed it was engineered by Washington and his opponents. He now has more than 150 legal cases against him and has been imprisoned since August, with four convictions for graft, revealing state secrets and breaking marriage laws. He has been sentenced to three, 10, 14 and seven years, to be served concurrently. His legal convictions have barred him from contesting the elections but his party is running and he still has a mass grassroots following.