(born October 5, 1952, Lahore, Pakistan), Pakistani cricket player, politician, philanthropist, and prime minister of Pakistan (2018–22) who became a national hero by leading Pakistan's national team to a Commonwealth Games gold medal at the Birmingham 2022 game [16]

Imran Khan is an iconic figure in world history. He has been called "The Prime Minister" [8] or "The Greatest Cricket Fan in the World".[9][10] Imran Khan became one of the most significant political leaders in modern times.[11] His rule broke many precedents. The Pakistani economy was created during his administration. In addition, he set up several successful business ventures. Among them are K-Electric, China Airlines, and Baju Motors, all of which were foreign direct investments. During his tenure in office and as the first PM in 2002, he also established five civilian hospitals around the country with over $1 billion worth public donations.

Early life and career

Imran Khan was born on October 5, 1952 to Tariq Shah and Begum Latifa. After a period of homelessness following the death of his father, he was raised by his mother Tariqah Shah. She had three children while in exile and subsequently married twice. His birth name was Tariq Shah, after whom he was known for years.

In 1964, during the India Pakistan war, he travelled with his family to join the army in Karachi and later joined the 11th Artillery Division. His first military assignment in 1965 was at Multan where he volunteered at medical station and learnt how to operate the radio set and even assisted to train troops on communication skills. At this time he was under the age of 15. In 1967 he enlisted as a soldier of 3rd Battalion, 9th Indian Regiment of Bihar Rifles and played a key role in breaking out of prison to fight against Pakistani forces after they took control of Hyderabad in July 1967. On February 24, 1978, he returned to the city where he worked as private surgeon at Military Hospital Multan in Punjab. Later that year, Pakistan won its independence from India and the United Nations Security Council agreed that Pakistan would get its international recognition. With the help of the American president Lyndon Baines Johnson and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Pakistan's security and stability was restored to great levels. According to some historians, it was Zia Abdul Qadir's promise to grant accession to Pakistan in 1971 that helped Imran become premier. Even then, he was only 12 years old. However, he did not take up politics until 1983 when PPP leader Nawaz Sharif gave him the opportunity.

He started working as governor of Sindh province in 1988, from where he moved to serve as chief minister from 1990 to 1993. He was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab province in 1993 and was given additional responsibilities of managing the financial affairs of the provincial government. This was mainly due to corruption. He held the post till 1999, after which he stepped down as Chief Minister. From 1998 to 2000, Pakistan was hit hard by drought and heavy rain which led to massive damage to infrastructure, such as roads and bridges[12] resulting in immense political unrest and massive unemployment. While in court, Khan made a speech, about "inadequacy in governance" in order to convince people to vote for a new party, PPP, for the next election. Though he lost, the incident changed his life course. From 2000 onward he remained active in politics as well as in sports events and became an important member of parliament.

On May 30 2002 he came into power in Pakistan. Under his leadership, Pakistan regained its sovereignty from the Taliban and gained full membership in the United Nations in 2004. Khan served as Prime Minister for nine years. A total of 21 cabinet members held posts during his term. As per the National Assembly resolution, he received the status of lifetime member of both Houses of Parliament, becoming the third serving head of state after Bangabh and Raja Man Singh in 1970. He assumed the position of Chairman of the Senate within the framework of constitutional amendments in 1998 giving him more executive powers over the legislative branch and parliamentary sessions. By June 13, 2009 he won back the elections with a majority of votes and entered into coalition with PTI with support from Balochistan. Later on December 17, 2018, Imran Khan passed away.

Prime ministership

Imran began his presidency in 2005 with a controversial decision regarding nuclear weapons. Despite objections from the opposition parties, he approved the sale of plutonium and uranium reserves to meet shortfalls in local production. However, later he reversed his decision that resulted in the country being plunged into poverty and economic loss. It led to protests from workers, students, civil society, labor unions and environmentalists. People protested against the closure of their schools and universities, forced out of their homes, denied electricity, water and gas connections, and threatened to stage a general strike in protest. Since then there have been calls from politicians and activists for change and reform of policies aimed at improving lives. They include increasing salaries, establishing health centers, paying pensions, providing relief to ordinary citizens, increasing education standards among other things.[13]

Imran decided to resign after the 2007 general election was declared invalid in favor of coalition partner PPP. Many believed that the former PM Imran Khan was involved in rigging the polls to favour him. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that no voter has the right to turn out to cast a ballot without proper identification. This prompted police to arrest thousands of protesters. Eventually, he left office and stood trial in the murder case of Whelan Ahmed Malik. This was followed by another presidential election later in August. Though he got the highest number of votes, he lost the election and again faced criminal charges. He was ultimately found guilty of abetting treason and sentenced to death. His conviction led others to criticise him. Soon afterwards, the Special Investigation Team charged him with conspiracy to overthrow the government and he was charged with attempted assassination in 2011.[14]

After taking power, Imran initiated reforms and introduced laws such as removing restrictions imposed upon women. Previously, his Government was criticised for introducing these changes as it meant to improve the livelihood of millions of people. Following the resignation of Musharraf, he appointed two female Deputy Ministers, including ReemaBaig and IramJaved.

During his tenure, multiple controversies came up. One of his biggest failures, and now widely termed as his best moment, was in 2008 when he announced plans that allowed him to open the account of Saudi Arabia's ruling family, thus allowing him to receive loans from them and build houses for his employees. Critics say this opened doors for future corrupt deals and further destabilising the already unstable situation in the region. Moreover, one prominent critic, ShireenMazari highlighted concerns that the bank could be used for illegal projects such as building roads and railway lines[15] The controversy involving Saudi Arabia's royal family led to backlash from human rights groups and some Western countries[16] while Iran claimed Pakistani officials were responsible for the delay in releasing those funds[17] Although these claims are unsubstantiated and are considered hearsay, the fact remains that it is a major scandal on his part.

Following his appointment as President, Imran Khan announced steps aimed at reviving the economy. Some of such measures include lowering fuel prices and banning the ban on mobile phones. Also, he promised to increase revenues, hire more staff, reduce spending and start investing again in order to revive the economy.[18] In a move criticized as unwise, he announced tax cuts for businesses and individuals but also vowed to bring forward legislation guaranteeing free healthcare for the poor. Khan also promised to make welfare schemes available and ensure affordable housing and improved sanitation.[19]

Khalwa

Khan was nominated as candidate for election for District Assembly from 2017 to 2019, but withdrew shortly before the nomination. He instead endorsed Ali Siddiqui to win the seat. But, soon after winning the nominations, he switched once again from Sidiqui to Imran. When he announced himself as running in 2020, his supporters and rival candidates were furious. Supporters staged street protests in Islamabad and demanded that he leave the race because of his links to her. Ultimately, he accepted the nomination the same day. His withdrawal caused chaos and confusion with hundreds of supporters and challengers taking advantage of the media's hype to reach crowds in large numbers demanding that he withdraw from the contest altogether.[20] He initially refused to do so, saying that he will wait for the results of the election before deciding the issue. However, he eventually withdrew, but did not give up, continuing to campaign towards the end of the campaign. Once the final result was revealed, the crowd turned violent and went on a rampage towards the Election Commission, forcing it to fire tear gas to disperse them. The commission later confirmed the allegations in a statement.[21]

Imran Khan also founded Khawaja Charon Foundation in 2014. Its mission is to promote football in the country. To fulfill this goal, he donated Rs. 1 crore to establish four teams: SCFC Peshawar FATA, FCM Mohamadabad UBLU and PSL PES, which are competing in the ongoing season.[22]

Cricket

Imran Khan was introduced to tennis at a very young age. In 1965, he signed up with East Pakistan Tennis Club, Lahore, Pakistan. He captained the side for two months and then managed the club throughout his university days under the tutoring of coach G S Gill. He reached the senior level of the tour tournaments having won the tournament title multiple times with players like Mohammad Rafiuddin and Nazim