The chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan is all set to become the next Prime Minister of Pakistan having emerged single largest party in the recently concluded general election to the country’s national assembly. Khan, who has been pursuing agitational politics against corruption in the government for quite sometime,won the election promising Naya Pakistan. Here are a few curious facts from the public life of the cricketer-turned politician.
*65 year old Imran Khan was an alumnus of Oxford University. He attended Lahore’s elite all-boys Aitchison College before graduating from Oxford University in 1975 with a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
*As the captain of Pakistan’s national cricket team, Imran Khan famously led the country to its first and only victory at the 1992 World Cup which instantly turned him into a national hero.
*After the win of World Cup Imran Khan retired from cricket and devoted most of his time to philanthropy and social work.
*Imran Khan launched Pakistan’s first specialized cancer centre, Shaukat Khanum, named after his mother who fell victim to the disease.
*In 2008, Imran Khan set up a technical college in Punjab’s rural Mianwali district, called Namal College.
*Disillusioned by sorry state of affairs in Pakistan, Imran Khan took the plunge by founding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) promising Insaf for all (justice for all) in 1996.
*Imran Khan won his first election and entered National Assembly in 2002 contesting from his ancestral hometown of Mianwali, Punjab.
*The cricketer-turned politician boycotted the 2008 polls as a protest against corruption.
*His party PTI won a provincial election in 2013 and governed northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for five years.
*The recently concluded election was his third attempt to capture power in Pakistan.
*Between 2013 and now Imran Khan took to streets with demonstrations and rallies against the ruling party. He was vocal critic of now jailed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
*Imran Khan waged the final battle with Nawaz Sharif in Supreme Court based on Panama Papers leak scandal which led to PM Sharif’s disqualification and imprisonment.