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A man walks in front of a campaign poster of former cricket star Imran Khan, winner of the legislative elections. REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha

The task ahead of ex-cricket champion Imran Khan at the head of Pakistan after his victory in the legislative elections looks hard with an economy in the red and several thorny conflicts on its borders. Relatively inexperienced, the new strongman of the country is called to govern a nuclear power of 207 million inhabitants as soon as he succeeds in setting up a coalition.

In two decades of politics , Imran Khan has generally assumed the role of populist agitator promising reforms, neglecting the complex art of passing laws. His party, the ITP, ruled only in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (northwest) and during a single five-year legislature. The transition to the national level could therefore be tricky. He has also caused some discomfort by taking over some of the theses hitherto reserved to hard Islamists as the defense of the law on blasphemy.

The army, ally or obstacle?

Mr. Khan is frequently portrayed as a puppet of the army, who would have spared no effort to facilitate his victory. Ironically, Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister from 2013 to 2017, who claims that the military conspired to bring him down, was once again seen as close to the generals before falling out of favor. He is now ineligible and imprisoned for corruption. The longer-term relationship between Khan and the army may be similar, observers say. " When it tries to exercise power, will it be appropriate for the army or will there be a conflict? "Says analyst and retired general Talat Masood.

The economy, a call for help

All economic indicators suggest that Khan may be forced to knock on the door of the IMF very quickly to apply for a loan. The central bank has been forced in recent months to tap into its foreign currency reserves and repeatedly devalue the rupee, to fill a growing trade deficit. The alternative would be to solicit one's Chinese ally.

The inevitable China

Too dependent on Beijing, Pakistan also has many enemies on its own soil, while its relationship with the United States has deteriorated, according to analysts. Khan has already committed to rebalancing the latter. Washington accuses Islamabad of laxity in its fight against Islamist terrorism. But Khan has criticized US-Pakistan relations in the past and advocated for an open border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani army is trying to seal it by building a barrier. He also expressed the desire to improve trade relations with India and discuss the thorny conflict in Kashmir. He finally cited China as an example of successful development.

Ending the corruption

Imran Khan's initial goal in politics was to stop rampant corruption and drive out a venal political elite. But he was open to criticism during the elections by recruiting politicians of dubious reputation from his party to take advantage of their local voice reserves. The ITP has also pledged to convince Pakistanis to pay income taxes, which only about 1% of the population does.

( With AFP )