March 25th 1992 was a big day for Pakistan the national cricket team beat
England to win the world
Imran Khan was the face of victory the Pakistani captain was already a global
celebrity and he had a reputation for being a handsome bachelor but almost 30
years later Khan's public identity has completely changed he is now Pakistan's
new prime minister
So how did Pakistan's cricket superstar become its
new leader and will he be the one to bring change in a country that has long
been controlled by its powerful military
Oh from a young age imran khan was exposed
to foreign influences he grew up in lahore where he attended british prep
schools and eventually went on to Oxford University where he sharpened his
cricket skills living in England Khan started gaining popularity as a
cricketer he embraced his life in the West and became a staple of celebrity
culture his athletic career lasted more than two decades after winning the World
Cup in 1992 he retired from the game initially he stayed away from politics I
am NOT meant to be a politician there not everyone becomes the prime minister
to help his country in 1994 he opened the first specialized Cancer Hospital in
Pakistan around the same time he started shedding his ladies-man image and
re-engaged with religion he married his first wife of three British heiress
Jemima Goldsmith's who converted to Islam after they
settled in Pakistan where he further distanced himself from his life in the
West in 1996 Khan created his own political party the PTI he promised to
build an Islamic welfare state that would take care of the poor and hold the
people in power accountable only few people are held accountable the rest who
unknown crooks get away with it come back to fight another nation he had a
strong anti-corruption message and positioned himself as the alternative to
Pakistan's two political dynasties the sherrif's and the Bhutto's who had been
trading off power and corruption charges for decades at first Khan's party had
little success failing to win a single parliamentary seat in the 1997 elections
but several years later in 2013 Khan's party won control of a northwestern
province bordering Afghanistan his anti-corruption agenda has started
gaining ground especially among young Pakistanis and it was working on a
national level he went from being the longshot to a strong political contender
in the election for prime minister he lost in a wash to wreath of the Sharif
dynasty but was now a key political player in Pakistan
as a cricketer Imran Khan was a reliable performer but as a politician he has
taken some unexpected turns in 2013 Khan's party called for a review of
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law which carries a death penalty for
insulting Islam they said religion was being misused to attain power in the
majority Muslim country now five years later Khan has been criticized for
defending the same law earlier as part of his anti-corruption stance Khan
denounced opponents Sharif's party but later he recruited candidates from the
same party to boost his own Khan has also been criticized for his leniency
with the Taliban in 2012 after 14 year old Malala yousufzai was shot in
Pakistan by the Taliban for championing education for girls Khan showed support
for the militant group at large calling their fight a justified holy war.
Khan blames the US for the rise of extremism in the region.
He has long been a critic of US
military intervention in Afghanistan particularly the drone strikes along the
Pakistan border this anti-american sentiment resonated with large parts of
the Pakistani population that see the US as an enemy
his own solution for the Taliban is centered on peace talks a push that has
earned him the nickname Taliban common so you're basically recommending a
strategy of negotiation with the Taliban and a complete elimination of the drones
if I hear you properly it is the only way believe me it is the only way
what makes khan's tolerance of the Taliban interesting is that it seems to
align with the interest of the Pakistani military the military's power can be
traced back to 1947 when British India was divided into two countries a Muslim
majority Pakistan and Hindu majority India as people migrated to the country
of their religion intense violence broke out the Pakistani military stepped in to
settle conflict at the border becoming a symbol of national identity and the
establishment that held a new country together since then the military has
controlled all national security and foreign policy matters one of their main
concerns is the war in Afghanistan which benefits them in two ways on one hand
the US has paid the Pakistani military billions in exchange for routes to the
country to continue their fight with the Taliban at the same time the military
supports the Taliban because the instability in Afghanistan keeps the
country isolated from Pakistan's rivals especially India
the military has also interfered with the democratic process within Pakistan
since independence it has either ruled the country directly or controlled it
indirectly Pakistan has had 22 prime ministers and none of them has ever
completed a full term they either resigned they were
terminated they finished a term they didn't start or they were assassinated
there were also three successful military coups because of Pakistan's
tense political past the election was high stakes in the months leading up to
the vote religious extremist groups try to destabilize the electoral process
by killing at least 200 people in a string of attacks including a polling
station bombing on Election Day that killed 31 people just weeks before the
2018 election Khan's opponent former Prime Minister Sharif was convicted of
corruption and sentenced to 10 years in jail the military was accused of
engineering Sharif's downfall and clearing the wafer Khan Khan went on to
win against bilawal Bhutto and Shahbaz Sharif the new candidates from
Pakistan's political dynasties his win was followed by protests and accusations
of election fraud which he said he would investigate and on August 18th
Imran Khan was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan since the victory
his corruption message has remained front and center:
But his anti-american stance seems to be shifting:
Whether leader will bring about the change he promised is still uncertain the only
certainty is that his leadership will be shaped by his relationship with
Pakistan's most powerful authority: the military.