ISLAMABAD -- Imran Khan has stepped aside as chairman of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, a move that experts see as an attempt to make space for the former prime minister's embattled group to compete in upcoming elections.
Khan, elected in 2018, was removed from the prime minister's office in an April 2022 no-confidence vote and has remained at odds with Pakistan's powerful military establishment ever since -- at times openly criticizing the army leadership. He was arrested in August after a local court convicted him of improperly selling state gifts, which rendered him ineligible to hold public office. Although that particular conviction was overturned, he remains in detention and faces various trials.
