On 25 July 2018, the Pakistani National Assembly elected Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) Party, as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. So who is Imran Khan?
The remarkable life of Imran Khan begins in the teeming cosmopolitan capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province, Lahore, in 1952 where he was born to the upper-middle class Pashtun family of Ikramulla Khan Niazi and Shaukat Khanum. Imran is the only boy with four sisters. His passion for sports, particularly cricket, grew and took a professional turn. He played for the Pakistan National team from 1971 and in 1982 he was made the captain of the team. In 1992 he led his team to the country’s unforgettable record run. Beating England in 1992 world cup finals in Australia is known as the greatest and only cricket trophy in the record of Pakistan.
Imran Khan studied at Aitchison College in Lahore then the Royal Grammar School Worchester in England. He also studied in Keble College and Oxford from 1972-1975 where he graduated with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
His achievements and philanthropic personality are surely impressive and are summarized here in a well put together biography. Imran has two sons, Sulaiman Isa Khan and Kasim, with Jemima Goldsmith whom he was married to from 1995 to 2004. He married Reham Khan in 2014 but the marriage was short lived. He is presently married to Bushra Maneka.
The world cup final in 1992 was his last and was followed by his retirement. From there, he fully engaged in politics and started his own political movement in 1996. His party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won entry to parliament in October 2002. In October 2007, he resigned from the national assembly to pursue higher office.
Occupying the prime ministerial position marks the greatest political achievement of Imran Khan who seems to actually seek decent reforms Pakistan, particularly with the epidemic of official corruption as a target. Official swear-in took place two days ago, on the 18th of August.
Khan is not without his detractors. In February 2018, Khan gave an interview to the Sunday Times in which he had strong words for the USA, NATO and Western liberalism. He even expressed support for the Taliban in Afghanistan. What is certain is that his stay in power will seek to bring Pakistan into a new direction. Many will be watching.
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