Droves of Imran Khans Allies Defect as Military Ramps Up Crackdown

Throngs of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan have been arrested. Media columnists considered sympathetic to him have been intimidated. Key allies have resigned from his party, saying they had been threatened with criminal charges and arrests.

As political tensions between Mr. Khan and the Pakistani government have flared in recent weeks and sparked violent nationwide protests, the countrys powerful military has responded by launching a chilling campaign against Mr. Khans supporters that aims to hollow out his political party ahead of general elections this fall.

The pressure campaign has begun to chip away at Mr. Khans momentum, analysts say the militarys most forceful effort yet to disempower the former leader who was removed from office last year.

Its the latest move in the Pakistani militarys standard playbook to sideline politicians who have fallen out of its favor and preserve its iron hold on the countrys politics. It also underscores how the cricket star-turned-populist-politician has become the target of the very tactics that helped bring him to power in 2018, when the military cleared the field of his rivals and paved the way for his election.

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