Khan sought to circumvent the move by having parliament dissolved and calling a snap election, but the Supreme Court ruled this was in breach of the constitution. On 10 April the vote of no-confidence took place and Mr Khan lost, his opponents having secured 174 votes in the 342-member house.
He claimed there was a foreign conspiracy to bring about regime change because of his policies on Afghanistan, Russia and China, without providing evidence. He did not name any country – but was subsequently highly critical of the United States, which denied interference.
Khan’s comments led to him being charged under Pakistan’s official secrets act, in the so-called cipher case. He denied divulging the contents of a confidential diplomatic cable sent by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington to Islamabad when he was prime minister.
The charges could have led to life imprisonment or even the death penalty but, with a week to go before the 2024 election, he was jailed for 10 years.
Many observers say Imran Khan’s biggest problem is that he has lost the support of the generals who have dominated Pakistan since its independence following the partition of British India in 1947.
Civilian leaders who have sought to tackle some of the country’s root problems have found themselves on a collision course with the military establishment in the past – and Khan was no different. Shortly after his arrest, he singled out the army’s chief of staff, Gen Asim Munir, as the man trying to crush the PTI.
He also found himself short of political friends. Far from cleaning up “dynastic politics”, the PTI leader was accused of sidelining opponents, with many jailed on corruption charges during his tenure. His enemies united to remove him.
Late in 2022, he was shot and wounded in an attack during a protest rally in the eastern city of Wazirabad. He later claimed it had been an assassination attempt by senior officials, which the military strenuously denied.