Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for early elections after his party took control of a key provincial assembly in a spectacular by-election.
His party won 15 out of 20 seats in Punjab, defeating arch rival PML-N on its home ground.
The result is what could happen in the October 2023 general election, but which could happen sooner.
Mr Khan was removed as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in the month of April.
The result in Punjab is a big blow for the incumbent PM Shehbaz Sharif, who leads the PML-N. The fate of his already weak alliance government is now hanging on by a thread.
Pakistan is suffering from unprecedented inflation and energy shortages – now political instability could spiral out of control.
Punjab, Pakistan’s most populated province, has long been a stronghold of support for Mr. Sharif and his elder brother, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Muslim League-N.
But in Sunday’s by-elections, the party won only four seats, one for an independent candidate.
The by-election was called after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers were disqualified for switching allegiance in a vote to elect Sharif’s son Hamza as Punjab chief minister. His brief reign seems to be coming to an end.
But this has happened under the banner of Imran Khan. Since his dismissal, he has been drawing thousands of PTI supporters to rallies.
“The only way forward is to hold free and transparent elections,” the former cricket star tweeted on Monday. “Any other path will only lead to political uncertainty and further economic chaos.”
Analyst Cyril Almeida says that as it becomes clear to Mr Khan that he is going to lose a vote of confidence in parliament, he has a single-point agenda: new elections as soon as possible.
“Now it’s in his grasp,” says Mr. Almeida. “They can try and limp… but the government is now effectively at Imran’s mercy.”
The results in Punjab show that voters there want to send a message to the country’s leaders about the economic problems they are facing.
Prices are rising as the government tries to deal with a foreign debt crisis, inherited from the administration that preceded Imran Khan’s ouster.
It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a sitting Prime Minister lost the vote of confidence.