But the campaigning for his party PTI is still going on, underground - with the help of women, and artificial intelligence.

Days before the February 8 election, 25-year-old Komal Asghar leads a team of women through alleys in the eastern city of Lahore, all covered by masks and headscarves.

They're knocking on doors and handing out leaflets adorned with photos of the former prime minister.

"It is easy for women going door-to-door and if they feel any threat, they can sneak into any house," Asghar says, adding that the public perceives women as non-threatening.

PTI campaigners fear the country's powerful military, after Khan was ousted in 2022 and fell out with them.

The party has since accused the military of trying to hound them out of existence.

Apart from Khan, who's been in jail since August, many other PTI candidates are behind bars, or on the run from criminal and terrorism charges - which they say are politically motivated.

PTI also says candidates' posters are taken down, and their rallies disrupted.

The military denies the allegations.

And authorities said they only stopped PTI from campaigning when it lacked permits, or if supporters clashed with law enforcement.

To avoid what PTI sees as interference, the party is not only making use of stealthy female campaigners, but also turning to advanced technology.

PTI's social media lead Jibran Ilyas, who is based overseas, says restrictions on the party have forced it to hold rallies - called 'jalsa' in Urdu - online.

And, with the help of generative AI, the party has created footage of Khan, its founder, reading speeches he conveyed to lawyers from his prison cell that urge supporters to go out and vote.

That's drawn several hundred thousand people to watch at a time, according to YouTube data.

"We have never had a political rally without Imran Khan. So for us it was no-brainer to have some sort of Imran Khan's message at that virtual Jalsa, which was huge."

No reliable polling is publicly available, but analysts have said Khan maintains strong support, especially among Pakistan's large youth population.

However, analysts say all signs show that the military is backing Khan's rival - another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

And, they say, that gives Sharif an edge in a country where army generals can make or break governments.