Is this the end of Imran Khan?

Imran Khan’s innings as the Pakistani Prime Minister may be coming to an end. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, one of his coalition partners, has split from the government. Khan has now lost his majority in the National Assembly, which is set to meet for a no-confidence vote on Sunday. And while all this falls perfectly in line with parliamentary norms, in the context of the country’s tumultuous political history, Khan’s premature exit would be another blow to democracy.

Not a single Pakistani prime minister has completed their five-year term in the country’s 75-year history, almost half of which has seen direct military rule. The previous two civilian governments, which ran from 2008 until Khan took over in 2018, saw their prime ministers ousted via the supreme court, which works largely in tandem with the all-powerful military. Benazir Bhutto too was shown the door via a constitutionally sanctioned mechanism backed by the military.