August 22, 2022 4:01PM # What Imran Khan’s Trouble Means for U.S.-Pakistan Relations By [Sahar Khan](https://www.cato.org/people/sahar-khan) --- SHARE The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, [has been charged with terrorism](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/21/pakistan-imran-khan-charged-terrorism-arrest/?utm_source=dailybrief&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DailyBrief2022Aug22) under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act for allegedly threatening a judge and several police officers. Internal Pakistani politics may not seem like a concern for the United States, but in this case there are big questions for U.S. policy. First, a bit of history: Things have been on a downward spiral for Khan all year. In April, he [was ousted by a no-confidence vote](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220409-pakistan-pm-imran-ousted-in-a-no-confidence-vote-in-parliament), after Pakistan’s Supreme Court [ruled](https://southasianvoices.org/explaining-the-role-of-the-supreme-court-in-imran-khans-ouster/) that his dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh elections were unconstitutional. Khan [immediately accused](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61055210) the United States of interfering in the country’s domestic affairs. The Biden administration—and [the current Pakistan government](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistan-rejects-ousted-pm-khans-accusation-that-us-conspired-topple-him-2022-04-22/)—have [denied involvement](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-01/u-s-denies-imran-khan-s-claim-it-wants-him-ousted-in-pakistan), but Khan’s accusations [have given new life to anti-Americanism](https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/anti-americanism-in-pakistan/) within the country, especially its youth, who are Khan’s key demographic. Khan has also been staging nationwide rallies, calling on his and his party’s, Pakistan Tehrik-in-Insaaf (PTI), supporters to bring down the interim government run by rival Shahbaz Shareef of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML‑N). The rallies [have grown in frequency and intensity](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/27/pakistan-islamabad-rally-imran-khan) and are raising concerns of violence. In a May protest, Khan defied a court order for protestors to stay inside one public area and instead urged his supporters to forge ahead toward the Parliament. As the government called upon troops to protect state buildings, [violence broke out](https://time.com/6181736/pakistan-imran-khan-protest/) between the police and demonstrators. On Saturday, Khan held another rally in Islamabad, where he [accused](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/22/former-pakistan-pm-imran-khan-charged-under-anti-terror-law) state officials of corruption and the police for targeting PTI, but the government shut down the live broadcast for inciting violence and “spreading hate speech” against the state. PTI rallies [are now banned](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/21/pakistan-regulator-bans-live-telecast-of-imran-khan-speeches) from being shown on live television and the Pakistani police have charged Khan under the country’s anti-terrorism law. If convicted, he could spend several years in jail. The struggle between Khan and the Pakistani government raises concerns for U.S. policy in three ways. First, the Khan drama is increasing his popularity. At some point, elections will take place (looks like [October 2023](https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/pakistan-s-election-commission-to-hold-general-elections-by-october-report-122080401189_1.html)) and PTI has a real chance of winning. As recently as July, PTI won 15 out of 20 seats in Punjab’s provincial assembly elections, [beating](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62206374) Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz—the party that had dominated every election in the province. In other words, Khan has a real chance of being reelected next year, which has implications for the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan as-the Biden administration is trying [to deal with the Taliban](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/02/talibans-ties-al-qaeda-leader-confound-us-path-afghanistan/). It’s no secret that the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan was [seen as a positive development for Pakistan](https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-takeover-of-afghanistan-seen-as-rude-awakening-for-pakistan/6434656.html), which has been a long-time ally of the militant group. While Pakistan’s leverage over the Taliban has been decreasing, it remains one of the only countries to have a direct, meaningful [relationship with the group](https://www.amazon.com/Taliban-Militant-Fundamentalism-Central-Second/dp/0300163681). In other words, having a bad relationship with Pakistan does not serve U.S. interests in Afghanistan. Second, Khan’s use of misinformation against the U.S. will be a challenge for the U.S. should he take power. [Anti-Americanism](https://theconversation.com/what-is-going-on-in-pakistan-and-why-has-the-us-been-dragged-into-it-180731) has always been a concern in Pakistan, and Khan’s rhetoric should be a sign that the Biden administration needs to continue to focus on countering misinformation, not only in Pakistan but throughout the region. (At the same time, it is important to note that not every nutty story is a conspiracy. [This](https://warontherocks.com/2014/03/four-pakistani-conspiracy-theories-that-are-less-fictitious-than-youd-think/) article by Michael Kugelman is from 2014 but the point remains true today). And third, this whole drama is taking attention away from a real cause of concern: Pakistan’s flailing economy. Pakistan is currently trying to [rally support](https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-army-chief-reportedly-seeking-us-help-in-securing-crucial-imf-loan/6680139.html) within the U.S. to urge the International Monetary Fund to disburse the first installment of the aid package it promised in July as soon as possible. Khan [may accuse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTtSdWNlsnE) the interim government and military of pandering to the U.S., but the reality is, Pakistan desperately needs the money to [avoid](https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/07/28/pakistan-may-be-able-to-avoid-a-full-blown-economic-crisis) a full-blown economic crisis. So, the Biden administration may be wary of Pakistan generally, and Khan in particular, but that shouldn’t stop the administration from coming up with a feasible strategy to deal with Pakistan and whoever ends up in power. Pakistan is a large, important country with nuclear weapons and a sizable youth population. The U.S. shouldn’t wave off these developments. ##### Related Tags [Afghanistan](https://www.cato.org/afghanistan) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).