Background

Ethnicity: Imran's paternal family is of Pashtun ethnicity and belongs to the Niazi tribe. His maternal family came from Kaniguram town located in South Waziristan in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. Besides, his maternal family was based in Basti Danishmanda, Jalandhar, India, for about 600 years.

Imran Khan was born on October 5, 1952 in Lahore, Pakistan. He is the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and Shaukat Khanum, and has four sisters.

Education

Khan received a privileged education. He studied at Aitchison College and Cathedral School in Lahore, and then the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England. In 1972, Imran enrolled in Keble College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1975.

Career

Khan 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 (1969-70), Lahore B (1969-70), Lahore Greens (1970-71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970-71). He played his first match for Pakistan's national team in 1971, but he did not take a permanent place on the team until after his graduation from Oxford in 1975, where he was part of the University of Oxford's Blues Cricket team during the 1973-1975 seasons.

By the early 1980s, Khan had distinguished himself as an exceptional bowler and all-rounder, and he was named captain of the Pakistani team in 1982. Khan's athletic talent and good looks made him a celebrity in Pakistan and England, and his regular appearances at fashionable London nightclubs provided fodder for the British tabloid press. In 1992, Khan achieved his greatest athletic success when he led the Pakistani team to its first World Cup title, defeating England in the final. He retired that same year, having secured a reputation as one of the greatest cricket players in history.

In 1993, Khan was appointed as an ambassador for tourism in the caretaker government of Moeen Qureshi. He held the portfolio for three months until the government dissolved.

After his retirement from cricket, Khan became an outspoken critic of government mismanagement and corruption in Pakistan. He founded his own political party, Tehreek-e-Insaf (Justice Movement), in 1996. In national elections held the following year, the newly formed party won less than 1 percent of the vote and failed to win any seats in the National Assembly, but it fared slightly better in the 2002 elections, winning a single seat that Khan filled. In November, Khan was briefly imprisoned during a crackdown against critics of Musharraf, who had declared a state of emergency.

Khan sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu and the Star TV network. In 2004, Imran was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive, while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.

On November 23, 2005, Khan was appointed as the chancellor of the University of Bradford, succeeding Baroness Lockwood. On February 26, 2014, the University of Bradford Union floated a motion to remove Khan from the post over Khan's absence from every graduation ceremony since 2010. Khan, however, announced that he will step down on November 30, 2014, citing his "increasing political commitments."

In spite of Tehreek-e-Insaf's struggles in elections, Khan's populist positions found support, especially among young people. In the months leading up to the legislative elections scheduled for early 2013, Khan and his party drew large crowds at rallies and attracted the support of several veteran politicians from Pakistan's established parties.

Just days before legislative elections in May 2013, Khan injured his head and back when he fell from a platform at a campaign rally. He appeared on television from his hospital bed hours later to make a final appeal to voters. The elections produced Tehreek-e-Insaf's highest totals yet, but the party still won less than half the number of seats won by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by Nawaz Sharif. Khan accused the PML-N of rigging the elections. After his calls for an investigation went unmet, he and other opposition leaders led four months of protests in late 2014 in order to pressure Sharif to step down.

The protests failed to oust Sharif, but suspicions of corruption were amplified when the Panama Papers linked his family to offshore holdings. Khan organized a new set of protests in late 2016 but called them off at the last minute after the Supreme Court agreed to open an investigation. The investigation disqualified Sharif from holding public office in 2017, and he was forced to resign from office. Khan, meanwhile, was also revealed to have had offshore holdings but, in a separate case, was not disqualified by the Supreme Court.

Elections were held the following year, in July 2018. Tehreek-e-Insaf won a plurality of seats in the National Assembly, allowing Khan to seek a coalition with independent members of the parliament. He became Prime Minister on August 18.

Khan has also 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.

Achievements

• Imran Khan is a renowned Pakistani politician, the current Prime Minister and former cricket player. He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, leading it to victory in the 1992 World Cup. In 1976 and 1980, Khan was awarded the Cricket Society Wetherall Award for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket.
  
  In 1983, Imran was recognized by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year and received the president's Pride of Performance Award. In 2010, he was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame. During his cricketing career, he received numerous Player of the Match awards. He received the award on eleven occasions out of which he received five against the Windies cricket team.
  
  Khan is also featured in the University of Oxford's Hall of Fame and has been an honorary fellow of Oxford's Keble College. On July 28, 2012, Imran Khan was awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in recognition of his services for cancer treatment in Pakistan. In the same year, according to Pew Research Center, seven out of ten Pakistani respondents offered a favourable opinion about Khan. The survey also revealed that Khan enjoys popularity among youth.
  
  Imran was also the Asia Society's Person of the Year 2012. In December 2012, GlobalPost ranked him third in a list of the top nine world leaders.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Pakistan: A Personal History 2011
  • Imran Khan's Cricket Skills 1989
  • Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan 1991
  • Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans 1993

• movie

  • Islam & America - Through the Eyes of Imran Khan

    (Why do so many Muslims hate the United States? What has A...)

    2011

Religion

During his cricketing days, there was not much known about Khan's religious beliefs. He admitted to having very little interest in religion. His penchant for religion is something that came much later in life. As he rose to the political mainstream, he built his messaging around support to religious fundamentalist groups.

Politics

Imran Khan is generally described as a nationalist and populist. His 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.

Khan demanded a Pakistani apology towards the Bangladeshi people for the atrocities committed in 1971. 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.

Imran views the Kashmir issue as a humanitarian issue, as opposed to a territorial dispute between the two countries.

After the result of 2018 Pakistani general election, Imran Khan said he would try to remake Pakistan based on the ideology of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

As Prime Minister, Khan faced a mounting balance-of-payments crisis. Though the economy was experiencing growth, imports and debt commitments had skyrocketed in recent years, especially because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative. Just weeks into his term as Prime Minister, the crisis worsened when the United States withheld $300 million in promised military aid, saying Pakistan had not done enough to stem terrorism. Khan attempted to seek foreign aid from "friendly countries first; because a dozen previous packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had failed to solve Pakistan's macroeconomic problems, his avoidance of an IMF bailout reflected popular fatigue with the IMF. After he was unable to secure foreign aid on favourable conditions from other countries, however, Pakistan submitted a request for emergency lending from the IMF. He continued to seek foreign aid from other sources and later received promises of investments from China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Aside from courting foreign aid, Khan oversaw several significant developments in Pakistan's foreign relations. The country successfully brought the Taliban to negotiations with the United States, improving relations with the country and with neighbouring Afghanistan. In February 2019, in a show of force against militants in Kashmir, who had recently staged a suicide attack killing 40 Indian security personnel, India launched an air assault in Pakistan for the first time in five decades, raising fears of a new conflict between the two countries. Pakistan downplayed the impact and appeared to avoid escalating the situation. When India again entered Pakistan's air space, Pakistan shot down two fighter jets and captured a pilot but returned the pilot to India soon afterward. After the incident, Khan implemented a crackdown on militants, issuing arrests, closing a large number of religious schools, and promising to update existing laws to reflect international standards.

When speaking about domestic policy, it's also worth mentioning, that Khan pushed for an increase in renewable energy production with an aim to make Pakistan mostly renewable by 2030. Besides, he initiated reforestation and expansion of national parks. Also, he implemented policy, that increased tax collection and investment.

Views

After 1992 Khan remained in the public eye as a philanthropist. He experienced a religious awakening, embracing Sufi mysticism and shedding his earlier playboy image. In one of his philanthropic endeavours, Khan acted as the primary fund-raiser for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, a specialized cancer hospital in Lahore, which opened in 1994. The hospital was named after Khan's mother, who had died of cancer in 1985.

During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports and promoted health and immunization programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. He also works with the Lord's Taverners, a cricket charity.

Imran Khan Foundation is welfare work, which aims to assist needy people all over Pakistan. It has provided help to flood victims in Pakistan.

Quotations: "It is not defeat that destroys you, it is being demoralized by defeat that destroys you."

"The more you study, the more you know; how less you know."

"I have always believed that one should not be scared of losing. I think that really is the key."

"Never give up, no matter how hard life gets no matter how much pain you feel. Pain will eventually subside, nothing remains forever, so keep going and don't give up."

"Lack of rule of law is the main reason Pakistan could not join the ranks of progressive nations."

"Are we Pakistanis, children of a lesser God? Is there one law for the west and one for us? Is our democracy supposed to be only democracy if you give us a no-objection certificate?"

"Compromise for your dream but never compromise on your dream."

"We must speak the truth if we are to be a great nation."

"Crime should not pay, it must be punished. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, big crimes do get rewarded."

"Leader leads people. Leader does not follow public opinion."

"Faith without wisdom and knowledge could produce bigots completely lacking in compassion and tolerance."

"Holy Prophet PBUH promulgated a justice system regardless of status of people, yet in Pak the powerful easily escapes."

"Mothers train your children to only speak truth."

"There is so much debate about moderate and radical Islam but there is only one Islam."

"I felt like the Islamic scholar Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905), who said on his return from a trip to Europe to his homeland Egypt 'I saw no Muslims in Europe but I saw a lot of Islam,' and of his homeland 'There are a lot of Muslims here but no Islam.'"

"Certain folks start playing Sindh Card despite having ravaged the life of the common Sindhi."

"My Pakistanis, you have not left me alone and I promise, I will never leave you alone in sha Allah."

"Truth is the power that will resolve our problems."

"Allah exalts whom he wills!"

"When I was older, I found Iqbal's work hugely inspirational. He argued against an unquestioning acceptance of Western democracy as the self-governing model and instead suggested that by following the rules of Islam a society would tend naturally towards social justice, tolerance, peace and equality. Iqbal's interpretation of Islam differs very widely from the narrow meaning that is sometimes given to it. For Iqbal, Islam is not just the name for certain beliefs and forms of worship. The difference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim is not merely a theological one - it is a difference of a fundamental attitude towards life."

"Bravery is standing with the truth and right."

"There are greater goals in life than material and sensual pleasures."

"The war on terror is the most insane and immoral war of all time. The Americans are doing what they did in Vietnam, bombing villages. But how can a civilized nation do this? How can you eliminate suspects, their wives, their children, their families, their neighbours? How can you justify this?"

"I want you all to stand like the Muslims who stood with La ilaaha ilalla for Truth and Right."

"Say goodbye to the IMF once and for all as the IMF's conditions enrich the rich and impoverish the poor."

"Good deeds must be rewarded by the system and crimes be punished - this is the essence of meritocracy."

"Prophet (PBUH) considered the ink of a scholar to be holier than the blood of a martyr."

"Ethnic-based politics is being used to exhort people, to serve own ends - this is anathema to concept of nationalism."

"When you remove the concept of reward and punishment on merit, the result is the utter destruction of social fabric."

Membership

• 

  honorary fellow

  Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh , United Kingdom

  July 28, 2012

Personality

During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan was a popular sex symbol. He was known as a socialite in English high society and sported a playboy image amongst the British press and paparazzi due to his non-stop partying.

Khan has been accused by some opponents and critics of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's "playboy to puritan U-turn."

As of 2019, Imran Khan had assets worth ₹ 10.8 crore and operated three foreign currency accounts.

Physical Characteristics: In November 2009, Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine.

Quotes from others about the person

• Raveesh Kumar: "It [jihad call] was unbecoming of the office he holds. Pakistan is not behaving as a neighbour should. This open call for jihad is not normal behavior. He [Imran Khan] used provocative and irresponsible statements in UNGA too. I think he does not know how to conduct international relationships. The most serious thing is he gave an open call for jihad against India which is not normal."
  
  Huma Yusuf: "Our country's healthcare spending is less than one percent of GDP, even though the WHO recommends 6pc. And only 4pc of Pakistani children receive a 'minimally acceptable diet.' These poor healthcare and nutrition standards expose the flaws of the prime minister's reasoning that our youthful demography will protect us against the worst of the pandemic; malnourishment can hardly boost immunity."

Interests

• music, watching films, traveling

• Athletes

  Dennis Lillee, Viv Richards, Michael Holding

• Music & Bands

  Mohammed Rafi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Connections

Khan first met his girlfriend, Emma Sergeant, in 1982. Their relationship was broken in 1986. He then had a short relationship with Susie Murray-Philipson.

His most well-known relationship was with heiress Sita White, the daughter of British industrialist Gordon White, Baron White of Hull. They had met in 1987-1988. On 15 June 1992 their daughter Tyrian Jade was born. According to White's allegation, Imran refused to accept her because she was a girl. Later in 1997, Los Angeles court announced the verdict, that Imran Khan was the father of a five-year-old girl named Tyrian-Jade White. In 2004, after Sita's death, Khan agreed to accept Tyrian as his child.

In 1995, Khan married 21-year-old Jemima Goldsmith. The couple has two sons, Sulaiman Isa and Kasim. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the couple had divorced.

In January 2015, it was announced that Khan married British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan. On 22 October, they announced their intention to file for divorce.

On 18 February 2018, PTI confirmed Khan has married Bushra Bibi.

Father:

Ikramullah Khan Niazi

Mother:

Shaukat Khanum

Spouse:

Bushra Bibi

(born 16 August 1974)

ex-partner:

Emma Sergeant

(born 1959)

ex-partner:

Susie Murray-Philipson

ex-partner:

Sita White

ex-spouse:

Jemima Goldsmith

(born 30 January 1974)

Jemima Goldsmith is a British TV, film and documentary producer and founder of Instinct Productions, a television production company.

ex-spouse:

Reham Khan

(born 3 April 1973)

Reham Khan is a British-Pakistani journalist, author, and filmmaker.

Daughter:

Tyrian-Jade White

(born 15 June 1992)

Son:

Sulaiman Isa Khan

(born 18 November 1996)

Son:

Qasim Khan

(born 10 April 1999)

Friend:

Akshay Oberoi

(born 1 January 1985)

Akshay Oberoi is an American-born Hindi film actor of Punjabi origin.

References

• Let There Be Justice: The Political Journey of Imran Khan A book by B. J. Sadiq.
  2017
• Imran Khan: the Cricketer, the Celebrity, the Politician The definitive biography of Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain and all-rounder - the Oxbridge graduate and vociferous campaigner; the devout Muslim whose kaleidoscopic social life flooded the gossip columns; the man who raised $60 million for cancer research and who is now one of the most important political figures in Pakistan.
  2009