Imran Khan: Journey from Pakistan’s Cricket Captain to the Prime Minister of the Country.
Imran Khan or Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi was born on November 25, 1952 into an affluent Pashtun family in Lahore. He was educated at rich schools in Pakistan and the U.K., including the Royal Grammar School in Worcester. He studied philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford.
Imran khan family was blessed with accomplished cricket players. His two elder cousins, Javed Burki and Majid Khan served as captains of the Pakistan national team. Imran was no less as he played cricket in his teens, both in Pakistan and U.K. Imran played his first match for Pakistan in 1971 but took a permanent place only after he completed his graduation from Oxford in 1976.
Imran made a special identity in the world of cricket by early 1980s. Imran Khan became an exceptional bowler and all-rounder and was made the captain of Pakistan in 1982. His charming personality and talent made him the fodder for various journals. 1992 was the athletic success for Imran, when he lifted the first world cup title for his country, beating England in the final.
Later, he acted as a fund-raiser for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, named after his mother, who died of cancer in 1985.
After retiring as a cricketer, Imran became a critic of the government’s mismanagement and corrupt activities. In 1996, he found his own political party, Tehreek-e-Insaf, which won less than 1 per cent of the vote in the national elections held in 1997.
In 2007, he resigned from the national assembly, protesting President Pervez Musharraf’s candidacy in the presidential elections.
Imran was also known for his writings, which included Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans and Pakistan: A Personal History.
Later, in early 2013, Imran Khan and his party members attracted a large crowd at rallies and gathered support from several politicians from other parties in Pakistan.
The elections produced Tehreek-e-Insaf’s highest totals yet, but the party won less than half the number of seats won by Nawaz Sharif led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Imran accused the PML-N of rigging the elections. Several protests were done by Imran to pressurise Sharif to step down, but everything went in vain.
Lastly, in 2018, Imran fought against corruption and poverty which led his party to win the elections after seeking a coalition with independent parties. He took oath as the prime minister of Pakistan in August 2018.