Can Imran Khan cling on to power in Pakistan?

In the brief interlude of Chechen independence between the Russia-Chechen Wars of the 1990s, I travelled with Imran Khan from Grozny to Baku, where we were due to meet Azerbaijan’s finance minister. We had different reasons for our visit. I was interested in the business potential of the countries of the Caucasus, while Khan, a former cricketer turned fledging politician who had recently formed the Pakistan Movement for Justice party (PTI), was keen to support the then independent Sufi Islamic state of Chechnya.

To get to Baku we had to catch a plane from the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan. Our Chechen hosts told us that we did not need papers to get across the border. The result was a terrifying shouty standoff between our convoy of Kalashnikov-wielding bodyguards and Russia’s border patrol. Fearing a firefight, I ducked down low in the back of the SUV. Imran, with a fearlessness that has characterised his career, sat back and roared with laughter.

There is no doubt that Khan has a natural air of authority and commanding presence. During our trip, he was the one to whom our hosts deferred. The great Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar once described to me Khan’s intimidating physical power when they shared dressing rooms: ‘We would cover up our flabby bodies while Imran would walk round half naked with just a small towel.’

Even a fully clothed Khan has been an imperious figure: a populist politician who has dealt dismissively with his political opponents. But now his pedestal has suddenly crumbled. On Sunday Pakistan’s opposition parties, in cahoots with defectors from Khan’s PTI-led ruling coalition, attempted to force a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Khan. It was speculated that a new government might seek to arrest him, a common fate for ousted Pakistani leaders, along with execution or assassination.