On a stage high above a hockey stadium to the north of Lahore, a compere shrieks into the microphone. Supporters of Imran Khan clamber onto rows of chairs. Then the 65-year-old cricket legend steps forward. With a general election due to be held on Wednesday, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is just a bat swing away from a victory he has pursued relentlessly since relinquishing a glamorous London lifestyle of celebrity and nightclubs more than 20 years ago. âThis is an opportunity to change Pakistan,â he tells an 8,000-strong crowd in the poor suburb of Shahdara, as moths collide with high-powered floodlights. âYou will not have it again and again.â Merchants inside the stadium cash in on Khanâs celebrity with T-shirts, phone covers and flags decorated with the craggily handsome features of the âCaptainâ who led Pakistan to victory at the 1992 cricket World Cup. But it is his promise to end corruption that has transformed the party he founded in 1996, and which held only one seat in parliament until 2013, into the probable leaders of the next government. Claiming that $10bn (£7.6bn) is laundered out of Pakistan each year, the populist, socially conservative leader hits out at the âtraitors who have made this country poorâ. Khanâs political fortunes have risen steadily in the year since he successfully petitioned Pakistanâs supreme court to disqualify the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, on corruption charges. Earlier this month, Sharif was imprisoned on a 10-year sentence: from the stage, a PTI official claims that that a jailer switches on Sharifâs television during Khanâs rallies, forcing him to watch his tormentor-in-chief. âHave you seen Avenfield House?â Mohammed Asif asks outside the rally. âThose are my flats,â says the 33-year-old Khan supporter, referring to four properties in Park Lane, London, which lie at the heart of Sharifâs corruption case. âThey belong to the people of Pakistan.â But Khan is a deeply polarising figure and his poison-tongued campaign inflamed political tensions. After he called supporters of Sharifâs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) âdonkeysâ, an animal charity reported that PTI aficionados had beaten one of the animals close to death. Khan implied in a tweet following the deaths of 149 people an Isis-claimed suicide attack on 13 July in the eastern province of Balochistan that the PML-N was behind the attack as a way to distract attention from Sharifâs legal woes. âBeginning to wonder why whenever Nawaz Sharif is in trouble, there is increasing tension along Pakistanâs borders and a rise in terrorist acts? Is it a mere coincidence?â he asked. More damaging to his claims to represent a break with the status quo is the accusation that Khan is taking advantage of the support of Pakistanâs powerful military establishment, which has ruled the country for nearly half of its coup-studded 71-year history. Polls show the two parties neck-a-neck but PML-N leaders appear so downcast as to have practically conceded. âSharif is just crying about the election as this is the first time he hasnât been able to use his own umpire,â Khan said at the Shahdara rally. In political terms, Khan has plenty of incentive to seek out shortcuts, according to analysts . The PML-N has had a broadly positive record in government over the last five years, in which the party has notably reduced power blackouts. According to political commentator Fasi Zaka, this means âit would not have been his electionâ without a military-backed campaign against the party in which supportive media channels have been taken off air, politicians have been pressured to defect, and the courts selectively targeted its leaders. In a recent interview with Dawn newspaper, Khan lamented that âthis is not Europe, you cannot just tell people what you stand for and they will vote for youâ. This is a lesson he appears to have learned from the election of 2013, when he worked himself into the ground â eventually falling off stage and being hospitalised. Since then, his campaign has evolved from promises of a âNew Pakistanâ â better schools, better hospitals, an end to pilfering from the state â into something more traditional. Around one third of his partyâs candidates are recently recruited âelectablesâ, long-in-the-tooth politicians who bring with them vote banks and, often, corruption scandals. These characters, many believe, will help the PTI crack the crucial province of Punjab, which returns more than half the 272 directly elected seats in the National Assembly. But former allies told the Guardian that many believe that the party has shifted away from its anti-corruption platform. âThere are cuckoos in the PTI nest,â Brigadier Samson Sharif, the partyâs ex-shadow defence secretary, said. Khan ânow has so many albatrosses hanging around his neck ⦠he is a pied piper leading the people nowhereâ. Born in Lahore in 1952, the Oxford-educated cricketer has also undergone what appears to be significant a personal transformation. While he used to party with Mick Jagger, today he defends Pakistanâs strict blasphemy laws and criticises âWestoxifiedâ Pakistani liberals. In 2017, the provincial government his party has run for the past five years in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa granted $3m to the Haqqania madrassa, a fount of Taliban fighters, drawing sighs of âTaliban Khanâ from the coffee shops frequented by Islamabadâs liberals. Others note the arc of his marriages: first came Jemima Khan, a glamorous British heiress. Earlier this year Khan secretly wed his spiritual adviser, Bushra Maneka. Still, the spectre of an electorally poisonous playboy past was revived with the publication this month of a kiss-and-tell memoir by his second wife, Reham Khan, a former news anchor, PDF copies of which were shared far and wide on Pakistani WhatsApp. She alleges he used âsix gramsâ of cocaine a night, has several love-children and sexts women in his party. âShe is just a porn star,â says supporter Zulfikar Ali Khan, repeating the argument of PTI insiders that the bookâs publication was co-ordinated with the PML-N. If the book was a ploy, it seems unlikely to pay off. According to Credit Suisse, the PTI stands a 75% chance of forming a coalition government under Khan. Some supporters even celebrate the armyâs alleged tilting of the field as proof that the institution is doing its job. âIf they are involved, they are in favour of Pakistan,â says Umair Iqbal, 25. âEven if you put down a vote for PML-N,â adds Shehzar, 19, âit will go to PTI. The PML-N has no chance of forming a government as it has no supporting hands.â In reference to the army, he said: âThey know how to bowl you out.â That appears a blessing to Khan for now. But with a looming economic crisis, political instability and an assertive military establishment to handle, Pakistanâs probable next âCaptainâ will have to zealously guard his own stumps. The former international cricket star Imran Khan has declared victory in Pakistanâs general election, hailing what he described as âthe fairestâ vote in the countryâs history, despite widespread allegations it was rigged in favour of his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. In a televised address to the nation from his house in Bani Gala, a wealthy suburb of Islamabad, Khan struck a unifying tone, pledging to rise above personal attacks and lift up the poor. With half the vote counted â more than 15 hours after the official result was due â the PTI was projected to win about 120 of the 272 contested seats in the national assembly, leaving it only a few shy of a majority coalition. Early on Thursday morning, Shahbaz Sharif, the leader of the second-placed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said his party would âwholly rejectâ the result. âIt is a sheer rigging. The way the peopleâs mandate has blatantly been insulted, it is intolerable,â Sharif said. Leaders from six major parties alleged that their polling agents â workers who keep an eye on the count â were evicted from ballot-booths by security officials in contravention of electoral rules. Pakistan military still a challenge for Khan as voters hope for new era
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Khan said: âI feel that this election has been the fairest in Pakistanâs history. If any party has any doubts, we will open the results of those constituencies up for investigation.â Appearing calm, the 65-year-old promised to improve Pakistanâs governance, widen the tax base and shun the VIP lifestyle of previous rulers. He said he would be âashamedâ to live in the lavish prime ministerâs house, and would turn it into an âeducational institutionâ. âHis speech will calm people down a bit,â said Asad Liaqat of Harvard University, describing it as Khanâs best in years and in contrast to the âobnoxious victory speechâ many would have expected. Although results are not expected to be finalised until late on Thursday evening or early on Friday, the PTI seems likely to make an unprecedented sweep of Pakistan. It stands to control the central government, provincial governments in the crucial province of Punjab and northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as holding a dominant position in the southern business capital of Karachi. This means the party will find it easier to implement policies across the nation. âHis first priority needs to be macroeconomic stability,â said columnist Mosharraf Zaidi, âand addressing the balance of payments crisis that is staring Pakistan in the face.â The election marked only the second time in Pakistanâs 71-year history that one civilian government has handed power to another in the country of 200 million people. There was, however, still widespread concern during the campaign about manipulation by the military, which has directly or indirectly ruled Pakistan for most of its existence. The PML-N, the party of Shahbaz Sharifâs brother, the jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, repeatedly complained that it was being targeted by the security establishment during the campaign. Khan has staunchly denied allegations by PML-N that he is getting help from the military. The army, which also dismisses allegations of meddling, deployed 371,000 soldiers at polling stations across the country, nearly five times more than the last election in 2013. As voting got under way on Wednesday in the south-western city of Quetta, the Balochistan provincial capital, a suicide bomber attacked a crowded polling station, killing 31 people. Balochistan also saw the worst violence during campaigning earlier this month, when a suicide bomber struck a political rally, killing 149 people. While there was no sign of popular protests on Thursday, Sen Mir Hasil Khan Bezinjo, president of the National party, said that âall major political parties who rejected the voteâ would hold a press conference on Friday. The EUâs Election Observation Mission will also give its report on the conduct of the poll on Friday. The results from the respected organisation â which also observed the previous vote in 2013 â are likely to impact what the losing parties do next. Pakistan's likely new leader is fiery speaker with authoritarian instincts
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Shahbaz Sharif has not been heard from since his firebrand speech on Thursday, and one PML-N insider said that he decided at a party meeting later in the day to protest against the vote in parliament and not on the streets, in a move that reduces the chance of prolonged instability. Complaints have also emerged from Pakistanâs independent human rights commission, which issued a statement saying women had not been allowed to vote in some places. In other areas, it said âpolling staff appeared to be biased toward a certain partyâ, but did not name the party. In the days before the election, the rights activist IA Rehman called the campaign the dirtiest in his countryâs troubled journey towards sustained democracy. Provisional results put the liberal Pakistan Peoples party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto, the son of assassinated two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in third place, ahead in 42 constituencies. Far-right religious parties did not make any significant gains, to the relief of many Pakistanis, although Aamir Liaquat Hussain, a controversial TV host banned from screens for inciting violence against minorities, won a seat for the PTI in Karachi. Khanâs success in the election is a stunning rise for the charismatic anti-corruption crusader who has spent much of his political career on the fringes of Pakistani politics. On foreign policy, he lamented on Thursday that Indian media had portrayed him as a âBollywood villainâ ahead of the vote, but said that if Pakistanâs warring neighbour took one step towards peace âwe would take twoâ. He also promised stronger relations with Saudi Arabia and China, while coolly demanding a less âone-sidedâ relationship with the United States, which he came to political prominence for criticising over its drone strikes in 2011. Analysts noted that Khanâs call for open borders and trade with Afghanistan contrasted with the ongoing, military-led construction of a fence along the Durand Line separating the two nations â an early sighting of potential conflict between the army and the man many term their âblue-eyed-boyâ.
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (Urdu: ع٠را٠اØ٠د خا٠ÙÛازÛâ; born 5 October 1952)[9] is a Pakistani politician who is the 22nd[n 1] and current Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is the founder and chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Before entering politics, Khan was an international cricketer and philanthropist. Khan was born to an upper-middle class Pashtun family in Lahore in 1952; he was educated at Aitchison College in Lahore, then the Royal Grammar School Worcester in Worcester, and later at Keble College, Oxford. He started playing cricket at age 13, and made his debut for the Pakistan national cricket team at age 18, during a 1971 Test series against England. After graduating from Oxford, he made his home debut for Pakistan in 1976, and played until 1992. He also served as the team's captain intermittently between 1982 and 1992,[15] notably leading Pakistan to victory at the 1992 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan's first and only victory in the competition.[16] Khan retired from cricket in 1992, as one of Pakistan's most successful players. In total he made 3,807 runs and took 362 wickets in Test cricket, and is one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.[17] After retiring, he faced scandal after admitting to tampering with the ball with a bottle top in his youth.[18] In 2003, he became a coach in Pakistan's domestic cricket circuit,[19] and in 2010, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. In 1991, he launched a fundraising campaign to set up a cancer hospital in memory of his mother. He raised $25 million to set up a hospital in Lahore in 1994, and set up a second hospital in Peshawar in 2015.[20] Khan remains a prominent philanthropist and commentator, having expanded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital to also include a research centre, and founded Namal College in 2008.[21][22] Khan also served as the chancellor of the University of Bradford between 2005 and 2014, and was the recipient of an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians in 2012.[23][24] In April 1996, Khan founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (lit: Pakistan Movement for Justice), a centrist political party, and became the party's national leader.[25] Khan contested for a seat in the National Assembly in October 2002 and served as an opposition member from Mianwali until 2007. He was again elected to the parliament in the 2013 elections, when his party emerged as the second largest in the country by popular vote.[26][27] Khan served as the parliamentary leader of the party and led the third-largest block of parliamentarians in the National Assembly from 2013 to 2018. His party also led a coalition government in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[28] In the 2018 general elections, his party won the largest number of seats and defeated the ruling PML-N, bringing Khan to premiership and the PTI into federal government for the first time.[29] Khan remains a popular public figure and is the author of, among other publications, Pakistan: A Personal History.[30][31]
Early life and familyKhan was born in Lahore on 5 October 1952.[9] Some reports suggest he was born on 25 November 1952.[32][33][34][35] It was reported that 25 November was wrongly mentioned by Pakistan Cricket Board officials on his passport.[9] He is the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife Shaukat Khanum, and has four sisters.[36]Long settled in Mianwali in northwestern Punjab, his paternal family are of Pashtun ethnicity and belong to the Niazi tribe,[37][38] and one of his ancestors, Haibat Khan Niazi, in the 16th century, 'was one of Sher Shah Suri's leading generals, as well as being the governor of Punjab.'[39] Khan's mother hailed from the Pashtun tribe of Burki, which had produced several successful cricketers in Pakistan's history,[36] including his cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan.[37] Maternally, Khan is also a descendant of the Sufi warrior-poet and inventor of the Pashto alphabet, Pir Roshan, who hailed from his maternal family's ancestral Kaniguram town located in South Waziristan in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan.[40] His maternal family was based in Basti Danishmanda, Jalandhar, British India for about 600 years.[41][42] A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up with his sisters in relatively affluent, upper middle-class circumstances[43] and received a privileged education. He was educated at the Aitchison College and Cathedral School in Lahore,[44][45] and then the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket. In 1972, he enrolled in Keble College, Oxford where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating with a third-class degree in 1975.[46] Cricket careerKhan made his first-class cricket debut at the age of 16 in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969â70), Lahore B (1969â70), Lahore Greens (1970â71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970â71).[47] Khan was part of the University of Oxford's Blues Cricket team during the 1973â1975 seasons.[46] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium-pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan included Dawood Industries (1975â1976) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975â1976 to 1980â1981). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.[17] Khan made his Test cricket debut against England in June 1971 at Edgbaston.[48] Three years later, in August 1974, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Trent Bridge for the Prudential Trophy.[48] After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976â1977 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.[47] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.[17] His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to become established when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.[49] During the late 1970s, Khan was one of the pioneers of the reverse swing bowling technique. He imparted this trick to the bowling duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who mastered and popularised this art in later years.[50] As a fast bowler, Khan reached the peak of his prowess in 1982. In 9 Tests, he got 62 wickets at 13.29 each, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year.[51] In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (International Cricket Council (ICC) player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.[52] Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second-fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second-highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.[53] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England in Melbourne, Australia.[54] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.[17] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs, a record for the best bowling figures by any bowler in an ODI innings in a losing cause.[55] CaptaincyAt the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad.[56] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the remaining 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.[17] In the team's second match, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.[57] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981â1982.[17] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982â1983, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.[47] This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984â1985 season.[17] In India in 1987, Khan led Pakistan in its first-ever Test series win and this was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England during the same year.[57] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 Cricket World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.[17] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as 'the last time I really bowled well'.[37] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 Tests.[17] Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting line-up, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan took the winning last wicket himself.[47] Post-retirement
Khan at a political rally in Peshawar in 1996
In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he 'occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam.' He had also added, 'Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot.'[58] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers 'racist, ill-educated and lacking in class.' Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.[59] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labelled a 'complete exercise in futility', with a 10â2 majority decision by the jury.[59]
Khan served as the chancellor of the University of Bradford between November 2005 and November 2014.
Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,[60] the Guardian,[61] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu[62] and the Star TV network.[63] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,[64] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series. He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for the BBC during the 1999 World Cup.[65]He holds as a captain the world record for taking most wickets, best bowling strike rate and best bowling average in Test,[66][67]and best bowling figures (8 wickets for 60 runs) in a Test innings,[68]and also most five-wicket hauls (6) in a Test innings in wins.[69] On 23 November 2005, Khan was appointed as the chancellor of University of Bradford, succeeding Baroness Lockwood.[70] On 26 February 2014, University of Bradford Union floated a motion to remove Khan from the post over Khan's absence from every graduation ceremony since 2010.[71][72] Khan, however, announced that he will step down on 30 November 2014, citing his 'increasing political commitments'.[73] The university vice-chancellorBrian Cantor said Khan had been 'a wonderful role model for our students'.[74][75] PhilanthropyDuring the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports[76] and promoted health and immunisation programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.[77] While in London, he also works with the Lord's Taverners, a cricket charity.[20] Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organisation bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavour, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.[20][78] On 27 April 2008, Khan established a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College. It was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), and is an associate college of the University of Bradford in December 2005.[79][80] Imran Khan Foundation is another welfare work, which aims to assist needy people all over Pakistan. It has provided help to flood victims in Pakistan. Buksh Foundation has partnered with the Imran Khan Foundation to light up villages in Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali and Dera Ismail Khan under the project 'Lighting a Million Lives'. The campaign will establish several Solar Charging Stations in the selected off-grid villages and will provide villagers with solar lanterns, which can be regularly charged at the solar-charging stations.[81][82] Political ideologyBasing his wider paradigm on the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal and the Iranian writer-sociologist Ali Shariati he came across in his youth,[83] Khan is generally described as a nationalist[84] and a populist.[85] Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include: Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; liberal economics, with the promise of deregulating the economy and creating a welfare state; decreased bureaucracy and the implementation of anti-corruption laws, to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan.[86][63][87][88]
Imran Khan speaking at the Chatham House in London
Khan publicly demanded a Pakistani apology towards the Bangladeshi people for the atrocities committed in 1971,[89][90] He called the 1971 operation a 'blunder'[91] and likened it to today's treatment of Pashtuns in the war on terror.[90] However, he repeatedly criticised the war crimes trials in Bangladesh in favour of the convicts.[92] Khan is often mocked as 'Taliban Khan' because of his pacifist stance regarding the war in North-West Pakistan. He believes in negotiations with Taliban and the pull out of the Pakistan Army from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). He is against US drone strikes and plans to disengage Pakistan from the US-led war on terror. Khan also opposes almost all military operations, including the Siege of Lal Masjid.[93][94] In August 2012, the Pakistani Taliban issued death threats if he went ahead with his march to their tribal stronghold along the Afghan border to protest US drone attacks, because he calls himself a 'liberal' â a term they associate with a lack of religious belief.[95] On 1 October 2012, prior to his plan to address a rally in South Waziristan, senior commanders of Pakistani Taliban said after a meeting headed by the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud that they now offered Khan security assistance for the rally because of Khan's opposition to drone attacks in Pakistan, reversing their previous stance.[96] In 2014, when Pakistani Taliban announced armed struggle against Ismaili Muslims (denouncing them as non-Muslims)[97] and the Kalash people, Khan released a statement describing 'forced conversions as un-Islamic'.[98] He has also condemned the incidents of forced conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh.[99] Khan views the Kashmir issue as a humanitarian issue, as opposed to a territorial dispute between two countries (India and Pakistan). He also proposed secret talks to settle the issue as he thinks the vested interests on both sides will try to subvert them. He ruled out a military solution to the conflict and denied the possibility of a fourth war between India and Pakistan over the disputed mountainous region.[100] On 8 January 2015, Khan visited the embassies of Iran and Saudi Arabia in Islamabad and met their head of commissions to understand their stances about the conflict which engulfed both nations after the execution of Sheikh Nimr by Saudi Arabia. He urged the Government of Pakistan to play a positive role to resolve the matter between both countries.[101] In April 2015, after parliament passed a unanimous resolution keeping Pakistan out of the War in Yemen, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as part of opposition, took credit for the decision.[102] Khan might not be able to stick to his previous stance, as Saudi loans and investment are crucial amid the precarious state of Pakistan's economy.[103] In July 2018, the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank activated its $4.5 billion oil financing facility for Pakistan.[104] After the result of Pakistani general election, 2018, Imran Khan said he would try to remake Pakistan based on the ideology of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.[105] Political careerInitial years
Khan tearing his nomination paper for National Assembly at a press conference; he boycotted the 2008 elections.
Khan was offered political position few times during his cricketing career. In 1987, then-President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq offered him a political position in Pakistan Muslim League (PML) which he declined.[106] He was also invited by Nawaz Sharif to join his political party.[106] In late 1994, he joined a pressure group led by former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Hamid Gul and Muhammad Ali Durrani who was head of Pasban, a breakaway youth wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. The same year, he also showed his interest in joining politics.[106] On 25 April 1996, Khan founded a political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).[37][107] He ran for the seat of National Assembly of Pakistan in Pakistani general election, 1997 as a candidate of PTI from two constituencies - NA-53, Mianwali and NA-94, Lahore - but was unsuccessful and lost both the seats to candidates of PML (N).[108] Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999,[109] believing Musharraf would 'end corruption, clear out the political mafias'.[110] According to Khan, he was Musharraf's choice for prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer.[111] Khan participated in the October 2002 Pakistani general election that took place across 272 constituencies and was prepared to form a coalition if his party did not get a majority of the vote.[112] He was elected from Mianwali.[113] In the 2002 referendum, Khan supported military dictator General Musharraf, while all mainstream democratic parties declared that referendum as unconstitutional.[114] He has also served as a part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts.[115] On 6 May 2005, Khan was mentioned in The New Yorker as being the 'most directly responsible' for drawing attention in the Muslim world to the Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a US military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.[116] In June 2007, Khan faced political opponents in and outside the parliament.[117] On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which general Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief.[27] On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest, after president Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Later Khan escaped and went into hiding.[118] He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab.[119] At the rally, Khan was captured by student activists from the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and roughly treated.[120] He was arrested during the protest and was sent to the Dera Ghazi Khan jail in the Punjab province where he spent a few days before being released.[121] On 30 October 2011, Khan addressed more than 100,000 supporters in Lahore, challenging the policies of the government, calling that new change a 'tsunami' against the ruling parties,[122] Another successful public gathering of hundreds of thousands of supporters was held in Karachi on 25 December 2011.[123] Since then Khan became a real threat to the ruling parties and a future political prospect in Pakistan. According to a International Republican Institute's survey, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tops the list of popular parties in Pakistan both at the national and provincial level.[124][125]
Imran Khan at the conference 'Rule of Law: The Case of Pakistan' organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin.
On 6 October 2012, Khan joined a vehicle caravan of protesters from Islamabad to the village of Kotai in Pakistan's South Waziristan region against US drone missile strikes.[126][127] On 23 March 2013, Khan introduced the Naya Pakistan Resolution (New Pakistan) at the start of his election campaign.[128] On 29 April The Observer termed Khan and his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf as the main opposition to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.[129] Between 2011 and 2013, Khan and Nawaz Sharif began to engage each other in a bitter feud. The rivalry between the two leaders grew in late 2011 when Khan addressed his largest crowd at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore.[130] From 26 April 2013, in the run up to the elections, both the PML-N and the PTI started to criticise each other.[131] 2013 elections campaign
Khan with US Secretary of StateJohn Kerry after the 2013 elections
On 21 April 2013, Khan launched his final public relations campaign for the 2013 elections from Lahore where he addressed thousands of supporters at the Mall.[132] Khan announced that he would pull Pakistan out of the US-led war on terror and bring peace to the Pashtun tribal belt.[133] He addressed different public meetings in various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of country where he announced that PTI will introduce a uniform education system in which the children of rich and poor will have equal opportunities.[134] Khan ended his south Punjab campaign by addressing rallies in various Seraiki belt cities.[135] Khan ended the campaign by addressing a rally of supporters in Islamabad via a video link while lying on a bed at a hospital in Lahore.[136] The last survey before the elections by The Herald showed 24.98 percent of voters nationally planned to vote for his party, just a whisker behind former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N.[137][138] On 7 May, just four days before the elections, Khan was rushed to Shaukat Khanum hospital in Lahore after he tumbled from a forklift at the edge of a stage and fell headfirst to the ground.[139][140] Pakistan's 2013 elections were held on 11 May 2013 throughout the country. The elections resulted in a clear majority of Pakistan Muslim League (N).[141][142] Khan's PTI emerged as the second largest party by popular vote nationally including in Karachi.[143][144] Khan's party PTI won 30 directly elected parliamentary seats and became third largest party in National Assembly behind Pakistan People's Party, which was second.[145] In oppositionKhan led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf became the opposition party in Punjab and Sindh. Khan became the parliamentary leader of his party.[146][147] On 31 July 2013 Khan was issued a contempt of court notice for allegedly criticising the superior judiciary,[148] and his use of the word shameful for the judiciary. The notice was discharged after Khan submitted before the Supreme Court that he criticised the lower judiciary for their actions during the May 2013 general election while those judicial officers were working as returning officers.[149] Khan's party swooped the militancy-hit northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), and formed the provincial government.[150][151] PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government presented a balanced, tax-free budget for the fiscal year 2013â14.[152] Khan believed that terrorist activities by Pakistani Taliban can be stopped through dialogue with them and even offered to open an office in KPK province. He accused the US of sabotaging peace efforts with the Pakistani Taliban by killing its leader Hakimullah Mehsud. He demanded government to block NATO supply line in retaliation for killing of the TTP leader.[153] On 13 November 2013, Khan, being party leader, ordered Pervez Khattak to dismiss ministers of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) who were allegedly involved in corruption. Bakht Baidar and Ibrar Hussan Kamoli of Qaumi Watan Party, ministers for Manpower & Industry and Forest & Environment respectively, were dismissed.[154] Khan ordered Chief Minister KPK to end the alliance with QWP. Chief Minister KPK also dismissed Minister for Communication and Works of PTI Yousuf Ayub Khan due to a fake degree.[155]
Voice of America reports on Imran Khan-led protests in late 2014
A year after elections, on 11 May 2014, Khan alleged that 2013 general elections were rigged in favour of the ruling PML (N).[156] On 14 August 2014, Imran Khan led a rally of supporters from Lahore to Islamabad, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation and investigation into alleged electoral fraud.[157] On its way to the capital Khan's convoy was attacked by stones from PML (N) supporters in Gujranwala; however, there were no fatalities.[158] Khan was reported to be attacked with guns which forced him to travel in a bullet-proof vehicle.[159] On 15 August, Khan-led protesters entered the capital and a few days later marched into the high-security Red Zone; on 1 September 2014, according to Al Jazeera, protesters attempted to storm Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's official residence, which prompted the outbreak of violence. Three people died and more than 595 people were injured, including 115 police officers.[160] Prior to the violence that resulted in deaths, Khan asked his followers to take law into their own hands.[161] By September, Khan had entered into a de facto alliance with Canadian-Pakistani cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri; both have aimed to mobilise their supporters for regime change.[162][163] Khan entered into an agreement with Sharif administration to establish a three-member high-powered judicial commission which would be formed under a presidential ordinance. The commission would make its final report public. If the commission finds a country-wide pattern of rigging proved, the prime minister would dissolve the national and provincial assemblies in terms of the articles 58(1) and 112(1) of the Constitution â thereby meaning that the premier would also appoint the caretaker setup in consultation with the leader of opposition and fresh elections would be held.[164] He also met Syed Mustafa Kamal, when he was in the opposition. 2018 general electionImran Khan contested the general election from NA-35 (Bannu), NA-53 (Islamabad-II), NA-95 (Mianwali-I), NA-131 (Lahore-IX), and NA-243 (Karachi East-II).[165] According to early, official results, Khan led the poll, although his opposition, mainly PML-N, alleged large-scale vote rigging and administrative malpractices.[166][167][168] On 27 July, election officials declared that Khan's party had won 110 of the 269 seats,[29] giving PTI a plurality in the National Assembly.[169] At the conclusion of the count on 28 July, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that the PTI had won a total of 116 of the 270 seats contested. Khan became the first person in the history of Pakistan general elections who contested and won in all five constituencies, surpassing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who contested in four but won in three constituencies in 1970.[170][171] Allegations of riggingA number of opposition parties have alleged 'massive rigging' in Khan's favor amid allegations of military interference in the general elections.[172] Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N party, in particular, claimed that a conspiracy between the judiciary and military had influenced the election in favour of Khan and PTI.[173] The Election Commission, however, rejected allegations of rigging and Sharif and his PML-N later conceded victory to Khan, despite lingering 'reservations' regarding the result.[174][175] Two days after the 2018 general elections were held, the chief observer of the European UnionElection Observation Mission to Pakistan Michael Gahler confirmed that the overall situation of the general election was satisfactory.[176] Victory speechDuring his victory speech, he laid out the policy outlines for his future government. Khan said his inspiration is to build Pakistan as a humanitarian state based on principles of first Islamic state of Medina. He described that his future government will put poor and commoners of the country at first and all policies will be geared towards elevating the standards of living of the lesser fortunate. He promised an investigation into rigging allegations. He said that he wanted united Pakistan and would refrain from victimizing his political opponents. Everyone will be equal under law. He promised a simple and less costly government devoid of showy pompousness in which prime minister house will be converted into an educational institute and governor houses will be used for public benefit.[177] On foreign policy, he aimed to learn from China and hoped to have better relations with Afghanistan, United States, and India. On Middle East, he said his government will strive to have a balanced relationship with Saudi Arabia and Iran.[177] Nominations and appointmentsOn 6 August 2018, PTI officially nominated him as the candidate for prime minister.[178] Delivering a speech during his nomination, he said that he will present himself for public accountability for an hour every week in which he will answer questions put forward by masses.[179] After the election, Khan made some appointments and nominations for national and provincial level public office holders as the head of winning party. Asad Umar was designated finance minister in future government of Khan in the center.[180] Khan nominated Imran Ismail for Governor of Sindh,[181]Mahmood Khan as future Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,[182]Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar as Governor of Punjab, Asad Qaiser as Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan,[183] and Shah Farman as Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[184] In Balochistan, his party decided to support Balochistan Awami Party which nominated Jam Kamal Khan for chief minister and former chief minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo for speaker.[185] His party nominated Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leader and former Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pervaiz Elahi for the slot of Speaker of the Punjab Assembly.[186]Abdul Razak Dawood was nominated to be the advisor to prime minister on economic affairs.[187]Qasim Khan Suri was nominated for deputy speaker of national assembly slot.[188]Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani and Mehmood Jan were nominated as speaker and deputy speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly respectively.[189]Dost Muhammad Mazari was nominated as Deputy Speaker for the Provincial Assembly of Punjab. Khan nominated Sardar Usman Buzdar for Chief Minister of Punjab. Announcing the nomination, Khan said that he chose Buzdar because he belongs to the most backward area of Punjab.[190] According to some sources, Buzdar was nominated as a makeshift arrangement because it will be easier to remove a lesser known individual when Shah Mehmood Qureshi is ready to become chief minister.[191] Prime Minister of Pakistan
Khan speaks with a United States delegation in September 2018
Khan meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in November 2018
On 17 August 2018, Khan secured 176 votes and became 22ndPrime Minister of Pakistan while his contender and leader of opposition Shehbaz Sharif received 96 votes.[192] He took oath of office on 18 August 2018.[193] Khan ordered top level reshuffling in the country's bureaucracy, including the appointment of Sikandar Sultan Raja as Railways Secretary, Rizwan Ahmed as Maritime Secretary and Sohail Mahmood as Foreign Secretary.[194][195] His first major appointment in the Pakistan Army was that of Lieutenant General Asim Munir to the key slot of Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence.[196] Khan announced his cabinet soon after taking oath, choosing to keep the Ministry of Interior to himself.[197] Most of his appointees were previously ministers during Musharraf era and some served in Pakistan Peoples Party government which followed Musharraf era.[198][199] Khan has stated that despite the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Pakistan must prioritize good relations with Saudi Arabia due to an economic crisis. He also added that U.S. sanctions against Iran are affecting neighboring Pakistan, stating 'The last thing the Muslim World needs is another conflict. The Trump administration is moving towards that direction.'[200] Khan has prioritized close ties with China,[201] saying he 'did not know' much about concentration camps for China's Muslims.[202] WealthNet worthIn 2012, Khan had net worth of â¨22.9 million (US$160,000) which decreased to â¨14 million (US$99,000) in the election year 2013 and then gradually increased to â¨33.3 million (US$240,000) in 2014. In 2015 Khan's assets were valued â¨1.33 billion (US$9.4 million). As of 2017, his net worth is â¨1.4 billion (US$9.9 million).[203] AssetsKhan owns a 300 kanal mansion in Bani Gala, Islamabad worth â¨750 million (US$5.3 million). He has a house in Zaman Park, Lahore worth â¨29 million (US$210,000). Khan has also been an investor, investing more than â¨40 million (US$280,000) in various businesses. He is also owner of agriculture land of 39 kanals at Talhar, Islamabad, and 530 kanals at Khanewal.[204] Further, he also has a share in 363 kanals of agricultural land which he inherited.[204] Other assets include furniture of â¨0.6 million (US$4,200) and livestock of â¨0.2 million (US$1,400). However he has no vehicle registered in his name.[205] Bani Gala mansionKhan owns a 300 kanal mansion in Bani Gala, Islamabad worth â¨750 million (US$5.3 million). Khan bought acres of land in Bani Gala on top of a hill and built a mansion on it.[206] The mansion is located within a gated enclosure and is accessible through a private driveway.[206] It is the permanent residence of Imran Khan. TaxIn July 2017, Federal Board of Revenue Pakistan revealed the tax directory of Pakistani MP's. According to FBR, Khan paid â¨76,200 (US$540) of tax in 2015 and â¨1.59 lakh (US$1,100) in 2016.[207] Public imageAfter the May 2013 elections, Mohammed Hanif writing for The Guardian termed Khan's support as appealing 'to the educated middle classes but Pakistan's main problem is that there aren't enough educated urban middle-class citizens in the country'.[208]Pankaj Mishra writing for The New York Times in 2012, charactised Khan as a 'cogent picture out of hisâand Pakistan'sâclashing identities' adding that 'his identification with the suffering masses and his attacks on his affluent, English-speaking peers have long been mocked in the living rooms of Lahore and Karachi as the hypocritical ravings of 'Im the Dim' and 'Taliban Khan'âthe two favored monikers for him.' Mishra concluded with 'like all populist politicians, Khan appears to offer something to everyone. Yet the great differences between his constituenciesâsocially liberal, upper-middle-class Pakistanis and the deeply conservative residents of Pakistan's tribal areasâseem irreconcilable.'[209]
Khan addressing an Interfaith Christmas Dinner in 2014
On 18 March 2012, Salman Rushdie criticised Khan for refusing to attend the India Today Conference because of Rushdie's attendance. Khan cited the 'immeasurable hurt' that Rushdie's writings have caused Muslims around the world. Rushdie, in turn, suggested that Khan was a 'dictator in waiting.'[210] In 2011, While writing for The Washington Post, Richard Leiby termed Khan as an underdog adding that he 'often sounds like a pro-democracy liberal but is well-known for his coziness with conservative Islamist parties.'[211]Ayesha Siddiqa, in September 2014, writing for The Express Tribune, claimed that 'while we can all sympathise with Khan's right to change the political tone, it would be worthwhile for him to envision how he would, if he did become the prime minister of this country, put the genie back into the bottle.'[212]H. M. Naqvi termed Khan as a 'sort of a Ron Paul figure', adding that 'there is no taint of corruption and there is his anti-establishment message.'[211] During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan was a popular sex symbol.[213][214] He became known as a socialite and sported a playboy image in the British press due to his 'non-stop partying' at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp, though he claims to have hated English pubs and never drank alcohol.[20][37][63][215] British heiress Sita White, daughter of Gordon White, Baron White of Hull, became the mother of his alleged lovechild daughter, Tyrian Jade White. A judge in the US ruled him to be the father of Tyrian,[216] but Khan has denied paternity publicly.[217][218] Later in 2007, Election Commission of Pakistan ruled in favour of Khan and dismissed the ex parte judgment of the US court, on grounds that it was neither admissible in evidence before any court or tribunal in Pakistan nor executable against him.[219] About his lifestyle as a bachelor, he has often said that, 'I never claim to have led an angelic life.'[37] Declan Walsh in The Guardian newspaper in England in 2005 described Khan as a 'miserable politician,' observing that, 'Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower.. He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next.'[220] Khan has also been accused by some opponents and critics of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's 'playboy to puritan U-turn.'[56] Political commentator Najam Sethi, stated that, 'A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn't inspire people.'[56] Author Fatima Bhutto has criticised Khan for 'incredible coziness not with the military but with dictatorship' as well as some of his political decisions.[221] In popular cultureDuring his cricketing days, Khan featured in many advertisements and television commercials as a celebrity brand endorser. These included Pepsi Pakistan, Brooke Bond,[222]Thums Up (along with Sunil Gavaskar),[223] and the Indian soap brand Cinthol, at a time when Bollywood legend Vinod Khanna was also endorsing the same product.[224] His popularity in India was such that it was 'unmatched in an era when there were no smartphones to take selfies. He was mobbed everywhere he went.'[224] The late veteran Bollywood actor Dev Anand even offered him a role in his sports action-thriller movie Awwal Number (1990), that of a cricket star in decline opposite an upcoming cricketer essayed by Aamir Khan, and as he refused, citing his lack of acting skills, the role eventually went to Aditya Pancholi.[225] In 2010, a Pakistani production house produced a biographical film based on Khan's life, titled Kaptaan: The Making of a Legend. The title, which is Urdu for 'Captain', depicts Khan's captaincy and career with the Pakistan cricket team which led them to victory in the 1992 cricket world cup, as well as events which shaped his life; from being ridiculed in cricket to being labelled a playboy;[226] from the death of his mother to his efforts and endeavours in building the first cancer hospital in Pakistan; from being the first Chancellor of the University of Bradford to the building of Namal University.[227][228] Personal lifeHe had numerous relationships during his bachelor life.[2] He was then known as a hedonistic bachelor and a playboy who was active on the London nightclub circuit.[2][229][230] He had numerous girlfriends during his bachelor life.[1] Many are unknown and were called 'mysterious blondes' by British newspaper The Times.[1] Some of his out of marriage relationships included relationship with Zeenat Aman,[231] Emma Sergeant, Susie Murray-Philipson, Sita White, Sarah Crawley,[1]Stephanie Beacham, Goldie Hawn, Kristiane Backer, Susannah Constantine, Marie Helvin, Caroline Kellett,[232]Liza Campbell,[37] Anastasia Cooke, Hannah Mary Rothschild,[233]Jerry Hall, and Lulu Blacker.[234][235] His first girlfriend, Emma Sergeant, an artist and the daughter of British investor Sir Patrick Sergeant, introduced him to socialites.[1] They first met in 1982 and subsequently visited Pakistan.[233] She accompanied him on various Pakistani cricket team tours including in Peshawar and Australian tour.[233] After long separations, his relationship with Sergeant was broken in 1986.[1] He then had a short relationship with Susie Murray-Philipson whom he invited to Pakistan and had dinner with in 1982.[1] She also made various artistic portraits of Khan during their relationship.[236][237] In a book published in 2009, Christopher Sandford claimed that former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Imran Khan had a close relationship when both were students in Oxford.[238] He wrote that Bhutto at the age of 21 first became close to Khan in 1975. They remained in a relationship for about two months.[238] His mother also tried to have an arranged marriage between them.[238] He further claimed that they had a 'romantic relationship', which was refuted by Khan who said they were only friends.[238] His most well known relationship was with heiress Sita White, daughter of British industrialist Gordon White, Baron White of Hull.[2][3] They remained in the relationship for about six years having met in 1987â88.[239] According to Sita White, Khan agreed for a child in a 1991 meeting. Tyrian Jade was born on 15 June 1992 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center but Khan, according to White's allegation, refused to accept her because she was a girl.[239] Khan had urged White to go for an abortion [239] Tyrian looked extraordinarily like Khan.[3][240] Later in 1997, Los Angeles court announced the verdict which was put by his former partner Sita White and her lawyer Gloria Allred that Imran Khan is the father of a five-year-old girl named Tyrian-Jade White.[241] His former wife Reham Khan alleged Khan told her that Tyrian was not the only child fathered by him out of wedlock, there were four others, some of them had Indian mothers and the oldest of his children is 34 years old.[242][243][244] In a later interview, Reham conceded that she did not know where these children were, who they were and whether Khan was only boasting about it, and said that she 'didn't even know if it is true also because you can never make out whether he tells the truth.'[245] In 2004, after Sita's death, Khan agreed to accept Tyrian as his child and welcomed her to join their house.[246] On 16 May 1995, at the age of 43, Khan married 21-year-old Jemima Goldsmith,[229] in a two-minute ceremony conducted in Urdu in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond registry office in England. Jemima converted to Islam. The couple have two sons, Sulaiman Isa and Kasim.[247] Rumours circulated that the couple's marriage was in crisis. Goldsmith denied the rumours by publishing an advertisement in Pakistani newspapers.[248] On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the couple had divorced, ending the nine-year marriage because it was 'difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan'.[249] In January 2015, it was announced that Khan married British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan in a private Nikah ceremony at his residence in Islamabad.[250][251] However, Reham Khan later states in her autobiography that they in fact got married in October 2014 but the announcement only came in January the year after. On 22 October, they announced their intention to file for divorce.[252] In mid-2016, late 2017 and early 2018, reports emerged that Khan had married his spiritual mentor (murshid), Bushra Bibi. Khan,[253][254] PTI aides[255][256] and members of the Manika family[257][258] denied the rumour. Khan termed the media 'unethical' for spreading the rumour,[259] and PTI filed a complaint against the news channels that had aired it.[260] On 7 January 2018, however, the PTI central secretariat issued a statement that said Khan had proposed to Manika, but she had not yet accepted his proposal.[261] On 18 February 2018, PTI confirmed Khan has married Manika.[262][263] According to Khan, his life has been influenced by Sufism for three decades, and this is what drew him closer to his wife.[264] Imran Khan Pti News In UrduKhan resides in his sprawling farmhouse at Bani Gala.[265] In November 2009, Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine.[266]Twilight part 1 full movie. He owns five pet dogs, who reside on his estate.[267] ControversiesOn 1 August 2017, Ayesha Gulalai came forward with allegations of harassment against Khan and claimed that she had been receiving offensive messages from him since October 2013.[268] In an interview, Khan said that he suspected that the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had used Gulalai for the allegations of harassment against him.[269] Later, Ayesha Gulalai said that she will forgive Khan if he apologises.[270] On 19 February 2019, Imran Khan gave a speech regarding the 2019 Pulwama attack in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir; he was criticised by the Indian media on not offering condolences to the Indian soldiers but was praised worldwide for his efforts in bringing the conflict to an end by releasing the captured Indian air pilot to India as a gesture of peace .[271] Awards and honoursLiterary workKhan has published six works of non-fiction, including an autobiography co-written with Patrick Murphy. He periodically writes editorials on cricket and Pakistani politics in several leading Pakistani and British newspapers. It was revealed in 2008 that Khan's second book, Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan, had required heavy editing from the publisher. The publisher Jeremy Lewis revealed in a memoir that when he asked Khan to show his writing for publication, 'He handed me a leatherbound notebook or diary containing a few jottings and autobiographical snippets. It took me, at most, five minutes to read them; and that, it soon became apparent, was all we had to go on.'[272]
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