Photo: REUTERS/Waseem Khan

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will appear before a court in Lahore today.

Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, is accused of corruption for selling gifts he received from 2018-2022 as Prime Minister. Previously scheduled to appear on March 13, he refused and petitioned to cancel his arrest warrant. He has since announced he will attend the hearing rescheduled for today.

Khan and his PTI party have responded to his legal woes by establishing a protest camp around his residence in Zaman Park, Lahore. The camp has been maintained for nearly a month and saw major clashes this week as police attempted to dismantle it and gain a pathway to Khan. Should he be arrested and convicted on all his charges, he faces potentially life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Expect proceedings against Khan to continue following his court appearance. This will almost certainly spark widespread street protests and clashes between police and PTI supporters. This would likely further complicate Pakistani efforts to secure international funding to combat rising inflation and economic crisis. As such, Pakistan’s medium-term outlook is negative on both the political and economic fronts as current political upheaval threatens necessary economic recovery.