In Pakistan’s turbulent politics, it has long been held that Allah, the army and America hold sway over who wields power.

Supporters of Imran Khan, the imprisoned former prime minister, are now pinning their hopes on getting him freed — however fanciful — on the wild card among the three: the incoming administration of Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Trump has said nothing publicly to indicate that he plans to intervene in Mr. Khan’s case. Once he is sworn in as president on Monday, Pakistan is unlikely to rank high among Mr. Trump’s foreign policy priorities.

But a series of posts on social media by one of Mr. Trump’s close allies has inspired almost messianic certainty among Mr. Khan’s followers that the once and future American president will help secure his freedom.

The Trump ally, Richard Grenell, has repeatedly demanded Mr. Khan’s release in messages on X. Mr. Grenell, who was ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration, was named last month by Mr. Trump as his “envoy for special missions.”

One of Mr. Grenell’s posts about Mr. Khan, written two days after his appointment, garnered more than 12 million views. In another December message on X that he later deleted, Mr. Grenell equated Mr. Trump with Mr. Khan, another celebrity-turned-politician.