Pakistan's incoming captain Imran Khan must steady the 'weak economy' ship

In between managing Beijing, New Delhi, Washington and the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, Khan will have to prepare the economy for liftoff

With his party taking pole position in Wednesday’s violence-riddled elections, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan is set to become the nation’s 19th elected prime minister with the support of coalition partners. None of the 18 before him managed to complete their five-year term. When they haven’t staged coups, powerful generals have pulled strings from behind, tripping up civilian governments.

The consensus opinion is that Khan has the army’s support. Assuming that is true — and remains so for some time — there’s a window of opportunity for him to stabilise the economy. Steadying a shaky ship will mean deliberately cutting the engine. A