Business Standard
Who is Imran Khan?

Imran Khan

About Imran Khan

Who is Imran Khan?

Imran Khan is a former international cricketer and is the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan. Other than being the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, he was chancellor of the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom from 2005 and 2014. In 1996, Khan founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and serves as its chairman. In memory of his mother, he launched a fundraising campaign to set up a cancer hospital in Lahore and raised $25 million.
 
Born in Lahore, his paternal family are of Pashtun ethnicity and belong to the Niazi tribe. Khan grew up with his four sisters in upper-middle-class circumstances. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket. He enrolled in Keble College, Oxford in 1972 where he studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, graduating in 1975.

Cricketing years
 
Khan made his Test cricket debut against England in 1971 at Edgbaston. In 1976, he returned to Pakistan and secured a permanent place on the national team. During the late 1970s, Khan was one of the pioneers of the reverse swing bowling technique. He also has the second-highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 in the batting order.
 
Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team in 1982 till his retirement.
 
Khan played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad, ending his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings, and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties.
 
Coming to politics
 
On 25 April 1996, Khan founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and ran for the seat of National Assembly of Pakistan in 1997 Pakistani general election as a candidate of PTI from two constituencies – Mianwali and Lahore – but was unsuccessful and lost both the seats to candidates of Pakistan Muslim League.
 
He again participated in the October 2002 Pakistani general election and was prepared to form a coalition if his party did not get a majority of the vote. He was elected from Mianwali.
 
On 30 October 2011, Khan addressed more than 100,000 supporters in Lahore, challenging the policies of the government. Another successful public gathering of hundreds of thousands of supporters was held in Karachi in 2011. Since then, he became a real threat to the ruling parties in Pakistan. Between 2011 and 2013, Khan and Nawaz Sharif began to engage each other in a bitter feud.
 
Becoming PM
 
In the 2018 General Elections, Khan contested the poll from Bannu, Islamabad, Mianwali, Lahore, and Karachi East. On July 28, the Election Commission of Pakistan announced that the PTI had won a total of 116 of the 270 seats contested.
 
During 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 the first Islamic state of Medina. On foreign policy, he praised China and hoped to have better relations with Afghanistan, the United States, and India.
 
On February 22, 2022, Khan said that he would like to have a TV debate with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to resolve differences between the two neighbouring countries.
 
He made the remarks during an interview with Russia's state-run television network RT on the eve of his maiden two-day visit to Moscow - the first by a Pakistani premier in over two decades during which he would hold talks with President Vladimir Putin and review exchange views on major regional and international issues.

Latest Updates on Imran Khan

If anything happens to me, Army chief, ISI's DG responsible: Imran Khan

Khan, 71, lodged at the Adiala Jail since last year, also blamed the current dispensation for being averse to criticism

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Updated On : 27 Aug 2024 | 4:58 PM IST

Imran Khan's trial in military court over May 9 violence possible: Pakistan

Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the first Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been kept in jail in various cases

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Updated On : 25 Aug 2024 | 6:00 PM IST

Pak HC temporarily bars trial court from issuing verdict against Imran Khan

An anti-corruption court has been hearing the Al-Qadir Trust case against the former first couple which is based on the charges that Khan caused a loss of over Rs 50 billion

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Updated On : 19 Aug 2024 | 11:34 PM IST

Pak's anti-terrorism court rejects bail plea of Bushra Bibi in 12 cases

Khan and Bushra were present in the court along with dozens of other accused who have been named as suspects in the May 9 violence that left more than 100 people dead

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Updated On : 13 Aug 2024 | 2:38 PM IST

Imran Khan being given substandard food in jail, allege party leaders

On Sunday, Khan refused to apologise for May 9 riots that erupted after his arrest last year, claiming that it was Army that owed him an apology since he was abducted by paramilitary rangers

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Updated On : 05 Aug 2024 | 6:02 PM IST

Would be foolish not to have any good army ties, says former Pak PM Khan

Khan said his criticism since his ouster had been directed at individuals, not the military as an institution

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Updated On : 05 Aug 2024 | 3:01 PM IST

British journalist deported from Pak after seeking meeting with Imran Khan

Shahzad Akbar, a former aide of ex-PM Imran Khan, also mentioned the incident on social media

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Updated On : 01 Aug 2024 | 1:05 PM IST

Imran Khan refuses to undergo polygraph test as part of investigation

A 12-member forensic team reached Adiala Jail on Tuesday to conduct the polygraph test on 71-year-old Khan

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Updated On : 24 Jul 2024 | 8:50 AM IST

Bushra Bibi fears for Imran Khan's life; alleges inhumane conditions

According to Bushra, Khan's life is in danger keeping in view the past incidents where he was allegedly poisoned and shot at

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Updated On : 21 Jul 2024 | 6:28 AM IST

Court grants police custody of Imran Khan for 10 days in May 9 riot cases

The unrest erupted nationwide last year after Imran Khan was detained by paramilitary Rangers from the Islamabad High Court during a corruption case proceeding.

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Updated On : 16 Jul 2024 | 11:05 AM IST

More trouble for ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan as govt mulls banning his party

A Minister said that the federal government has resolved to present a case to the Supreme Court to ban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party for alleged anti-state activities

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Updated On : 15 Jul 2024 | 7:00 PM IST

After a year in jail, ex-Pak PM Imran acquitted in illegal marriage case

In Islam, a woman can't remarry before completing four months after divorce or the death of her husband

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Updated On : 13 Jul 2024 | 4:55 PM IST

Imran's party to become largest in Pak Parliament after SC ruling: Report

The opposition alliance in the National Assembly will also surge to a strength of 120, the report said. Currently, the combined opposition, including the PTI, has 97 members

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Updated On : 12 Jul 2024 | 7:59 PM IST

Imran Khan's PTI wins 20 extra reserved seats in Pakistan's parliament

Under Pakistan's election rules, parties are allocated 70 reserved seats - 60 for women, 10 for non-Muslims - in proportion to the number of seats they win

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Updated On : 12 Jul 2024 | 2:48 PM IST

Imran plans hunger strike over lack of confidence in Pak SC chief justice

He was present in the court in connection with the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case in the Adiala Jail, where he has been lodged

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Updated On : 05 Jul 2024 | 8:58 PM IST

Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan should be released immediately: UN human rights group

Despite his conviction in multiple cases, Khan remains the leading opposition figure

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Updated On : 02 Jul 2024 | 7:28 AM IST

'Illegal marriage': Appeals by Imran Khan & wife to suspend sentence junked

The former couple was sentenced to seven years in jail with a fine of Rs 5,00,000 each on February 3 by a district and sessions court in the case

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Updated On : 27 Jun 2024 | 9:26 PM IST

'People want Imran Khan to be kept in jail for 5 yrs for progress of Pak'

Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal expressed concern that the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) release could lead to renewed protests and unrest

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Updated On : 16 Jun 2024 | 3:54 PM IST

Will send 1K students to China for agriculture training: Pakistan PM Sharif

Shehbaz Sharif, who concluded his five-day official visit to China, made the announcement during a visit to Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Base in Xi'an city

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Updated On : 09 Jun 2024 | 2:13 PM IST

Jailed Imran Khan invokes Kejriwal's example before Pakistan's SC

Justices Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Athar Minallah, and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi also sat on the bench

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Updated On : 07 Jun 2024 | 7:17 PM IST