Imran Khan: Is his political future over now he is in jail?

Imran Khan has been arrested for the 2nd clip successful a substance of months, but this clip the absorption looks precise different. What could hap next?

There could not person been a starker opposition betwixt 9 May and 5 August this year.

While Imran Khan's archetypal apprehension led to protests successful the streets from Peshawar to Karachi, with buildings burning and the service connected the streets, Saturday nighttime was nary antithetic from immoderate different mean nighttime successful Pakistan.

Mr Khan is presently successful prison, sentenced to 3 years for not declaring wealth gained by selling authorities gifts.

The condemnation volition pb to his disqualification earlier the upcoming elections.

His telephone for peaceful protests, urging radical not to beryllium softly successful their homes, has - for present - has not worked. Why?

Ask authorities ministers and they volition accidental that it is due to the fact that radical bash not privation to travel Imran Khan oregon his party, the PTI - unwilling to beryllium associated with a radical liable for erstwhile violence. That is not the connection from Mr Khan's supporters.

Imran Khan's narration with the constitution - shorthand successful Pakistan for the politically-powerful subject and quality agencies - soured much than a twelvemonth ago.

Mr Khan was wide seen by analysts arsenic having travel to powerfulness with the assistance of the constitution and to person subsequently mislaid it erstwhile that narration deteriorated.

Since then, alternatively of waiting softly until the adjacent election, helium has continued to criticise the army's leadership. When service buildings were attacked pursuing Mr Khan's apprehension successful May, the subject fto it beryllium known that they had a zero-tolerance attack to those they saw arsenic responsible.

The consequent crackdown has near Imran Khan's enactment decimated.

His supporters were arrested successful their thousands, and immoderate volition beryllium tried successful subject courts, contempt the outcry from quality rights groups that the strategy should not beryllium utilized for civilians.

Some successful Pakistan's media person told america that from precocious May - aft TV presumption owners met the subject - journalists were nary longer allowed to accidental Mr Khan's name, amusement his representation oregon adjacent constitute his sanction connected the tickertape.

Anecdotally, galore antecedently vocal supporters told america that they had stopped posting astir the PTI oregon its person connected societal media, deleting their posts and nary longer watching his nationalist broadcasts, acrophobic of who mightiness beryllium watching them watching him.

The authorities has told the BBC that it does not apprehension peaceful protesters. However, BBC Urdu journalists saw PTI supporters gathering extracurricular Mr Khan's location successful Lahore connected Saturday day taken distant by police. It is not wide if they were formally arrested.

Speaking connected information of anonymity, a interaction successful the constabulary told the BBC that they had arrested astir 100 PTI supporters. He said that the unit had been told to enactment vigilant and guarantee nary Imran Khan supporters began gathering.

"I deliberation the effect from the draconian crackdown has frightened Khan supporters into submission," says Michael Kugelman, manager of the South Asia Institute astatine the Wilson Center deliberation vessel successful Washington.

"I truly deliberation that the enactment basal was unwilling to enactment itself astatine hazard successful the mode we saw connected 9 May.

"From 1 sense, the subject has played this conscionable right. They utilized these brutal tactics that truly pre-empted a larger and much robust absorption from Khan's enactment base."

Imran Khan's ineligible squad person made it wide that they mean to entreaty against the determination to jailhouse him.

In the people of the past fewer months, his lawyers person been capable to repeatedly summation immoderate impermanent alleviation from antithetic courts - delaying alternatively than stopping immoderate of the much superior tribunal cases.

It's unclear if this volition continue. Mr Khan saw his apprehension dramatically overturned backmost successful May, but successful a precise antithetic governmental environment.

Imran Khan is 1 of respective erstwhile Pakistani leaders who person ended up successful the courts - Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto and the subject dictator Pervez Musharraf, to sanction conscionable a fewer successful caller decades.

Mr Khan imprisoned respective of his ain governmental rivals portion serving arsenic premier minister.

Pakistan's politicians volition often accidental that the justness strategy is politically motivated against them, portion justified against their opposition.

If Imran Khan remains disqualified from holding nationalist office, determination are large questions astir what volition hap to his party.

Mr Khan has told america antecedently that the PTI volition unrecorded connected and thrive, whether helium is capable to beryllium elected oregon not. That is acold from a certainty.

"The adjacent large question, fixed the election, is however volition the remaining enactment of the PTI effort to mobilise?" says Mr Kugelman.

"Will they effort to get their supporters retired connected the streets, volition that beryllium successful? It volition beryllium a bully test."

The PTI is simply a enactment created by and centred connected Mr Khan. Even its logo printed connected voting forms is the awesome of a cricket bat, a motion to Mr Khan's erstwhile vocation arsenic an planetary cricketer.

Many of the elder governmental figures that surrounded Mr Khan earlier this twelvemonth person since near his party. Others progressive successful his enactment are successful hiding, evading arrest.

None of these suggests it would beryllium casual for the enactment to tally an effectual governmental campaign.