Do we like them?

Do we like Imran Khan?

Our score: 4 out of 10. A condemned run of remarks about women, a jail record still moving through appeals, and too little verified good on file to score him higher.

Imran Khan was Pakistan's prime minister when he made the remarks that sit at the centre of this check. In April 2021 ITV reported that he was condemned after saying the veil could shield women from sex attacks. That's the sort of line that follows a leader around.

On the courts, the record is long and still moving. A January 2025 report said he was sentenced to 14 years in the Al-Qadir case, with a seven-year term for his wife. That's a sentence handed down by a court, not the final word, because appeals are part of the story.

The earlier Toshakhana case also went through the Islamabad High Court. In December 2023 the court rejected a plea of his in that case, according to an Indian outlet's report. I couldn't open the fuller coverage to say where each case ended up, so treat the legal picture as unfinished.

On the harm test, the 2021 veil comments are the clearest item: rights groups and critics condemned them as victim-blaming. Nothing from him about LGBTQ+ or trans people turned up in what I found, which isn't the same as a clean sheet. The honest read is a contested position on women, not a proven long campaign.