Imran khan
The Pakistan President was born on January 4, 1947 in Karachi City and educated at Karachi’s National College of Arts and Sciences (NCAS). His parents are Nawaz Sharif Khan and Mumtaz Begum. Imran came to Pakistan as a baby after his mother died when she was five months pregnant.[1] He studied English with the London School of Economics and political science at Harvard University before being admitted into the prestigious Khyber Passport Program with the then ruling Pakistani government’s Economic Planning Commission after graduation. In 1960 he served first as a civil servant, later became director general of state enterprises, chief executive officer of Pakistan International Airlines and chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills.[2]
In 1973, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan's president and named Imran acting prime minister; the two had previously been friends, but became estranged shortly before the country’s independence from British colonial rule.[3][4] As head of Pakistan, Imran assumed many major roles from both civilian and military leadership, including serving as defence secretary and national security adviser, interior minister and foreign minister. Khan also made frequent trips abroad, during which he met several world leaders and gained international acclaim for his role in diplomatic negotiations. During that time, he became one of the most prominent figures in South Asian politics, receiving numerous awards for his work.[5] In 1989 his government passed the constitutional amendment of bicameral legislature which enabled him to exercise all executive powers in the name of the Punjab Chief Minister.[6] Imran has been the chairman of the opposition parties since then. On November 14, 2007, Khan’s daughter Ayesha was killed by her own teenage daughter, Hamna. In 2010, Imran proposed to run again as vice-president of the Pakistan Democratic Party, only for it to be rejected on December 3. From April 2, 2011 until July 28, 2012, Khan said twice a day without any breaks.[7]
Political career [ edit ]
In 1972, Khan began working as an assistant civil servant after graduating from the NCA School of Civil Engineering. He became a civil servant in 1980 under the new constitution. The following year, he secured an appointment as administrator of Karachi's federal public health department.
Khan joined Pakistan's Central Intelligence Agency in 1982 in New York. Under its protection, he worked as Deputy Director General, where he negotiated several agreements between American agents and Pakistani officials. At the height of its fame, they were referred to as the "Watergate" scandal.[8] Pakistan saw him make several important missions to Afghanistan and Somalia before he was removed from the CIA.[9] He returned to the Pakistan government in 1988.[10] In 1991, Khan was one of three Cabinet ministers who resigned from their positions because of an investigation of corruption in a Karachi steel mill. Pakistan's parliament subsequently stripped former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of his post. On July 23, 2012 Khan completed ten years of prison.[11] He was elected member of Parliament to represent Karachi and Rawalpindi districts on May 31, 2015.[12]
On August 21, 2018, Khan announced that he would run for re-election in the upcoming 2020 federal elections. Before announcing this decision, he pledged to uphold the Constitution and fulfil his responsibilities as the head of state.[13] On December 5, 2019, Khan was elected president of Pakistan during Pakistan’s inaugural ceremony at Islamabad Airport. On February 26, 2020, Khan took office as Pakistan’s forty-fourth leader.[14] An election is scheduled for March 31, 2021. While the Supreme Court ruled that there was no electoral fraud in the 2017 general Election, President Emran Yousafzai said that election irregularities in last year’s election had not been properly investigated; therefore, no grounds for challenging the result could be advanced.[15]
On January 14, 2021, Imran declared himself self-exiled from Pakistan due to COVID-19, saying that the global health crisis had left him feeling “very ill”.[16] This decision means that Khan will spend his remaining days in the United States of America. However, the timeline was unclear. Khan’s return to Pakistan officially started on January 27, 2021. Khan did not attend the inauguration ceremony and had asked members of the public not to gather in large numbers, saying that he was not well enough to address the gathering.[17] During the speech, he addressed the crowd, thanking them for having faith and trust in him and wished Americans good luck in their fight against Coronavirus. He also highlighted positive aspects of the US economy during the pandemic and thanked the people of Pakistan for their support for each other.[18]
Imran Khan’s second tenure as president lasted less than half the year, as the nation faced a severe economic recession. When the government attempted to bring economic growth, economic analysts argued that the policies of previous governments have failed and that the next administration must adopt different strategies and revive Pakistan’s economy.[19] However, despite such criticisms, Khan continued to pursue development projects such as building roads and schools in developing parts of the country, while making promises not to privatize state organizations, such as K-Electric[20][21] and Sialkot Electric Power Station.[22][23]
He was often criticized for the low level of transparency in Pakistan. In 2018, Senator Sherry Rehman wrote to Secretary of State James Comey asking Khan about how he has been able to hide information about Operation Pashtun Dawn. According to Rehman, Khan should reveal the names of the person who made these decisions. It has been confirmed with reports that some key figures in the previous regime and intelligence agencies were part of the planning committee for the operation.[24]
In 2016, Khan was attacked by protesting protesters.[25][26] On October 22, 2017, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was murdered[27] in front of journalists who had gone to interview him before he was shot by police officers soon afterwards.[28]
Khan was criticised for giving more money and power to the military while the military remained powerful. In 2009, he said the military should stay out of politics, since politicians were trying to take too much power away from the military.[29] However, after facing a massive protest movement, Khan eventually accepted the military's demands to stay in power.[30][31]
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), launched legal cases to halt the election process.[32] On June 29, 2018, Attorney-at-law Fida Hussain called Khan and accused him of rigging the vote.[33] Khan insisted that he has done nothing wrong, claiming that he has been unfairly targeted by the opposition and that his country needs stability and peace.[34]
Paid visits and media appearances
Since 2000, Imran Khan visited multiple countries and international institutions. These visits included Singapore, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Germany, Israel and Qatar. In 2018, he hosted Pakistani delegation for a series of meetings and interviews in the UK, US, Egypt, Bahrain and Japan.[35] Khan went on to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on September 30, 2018, becoming the third high-level official between the neighbouring countries to meet.[36] During his visit to Kuwait, he said that the PTI is willing to cooperate on everything with Kuwait after the end of the war against Iraq.[37] When he was visiting Nepal in December 2015, he spoke at length about China, calling it the true friend of Pakistan.[38]
Khan regularly appeared on television shows in Pakistan's Urdu language.[39][40] Due to high poverty levels, Khan has visited hospitals many times throughout the country in search for food.[41] Additionally, Imran has been invited on various occasions by major TV channels and public figures.[42][43] Khan has made visits to the White House of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump.[44] In 2002, Khan gave a live address as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.[45]
On 11 July 2006, Khan paid a visit to the UN Headquarters in New York. There, he presented Pakistani Ambassador Dr Shireen Ahmed, who came as part of a team of Pakistani women.[46] Later the same year, he delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum where he spoke on Afghanistan.[46]
Khan has spoken openly about human rights issues and has repeatedly voiced the view that the government should stop using the death penalty.[44][46] Apart from speaking at events and writing articles, he also gives interviews to newspapers and discusses the issue of child marriages and marriage equality with women across Pakistan.[45] In 2013, Khan visited Bangladesh. He delivered a speech at Joy Banga programme organized by the Center for Policy Dialogue.[47]
Khan also appears on documentaries such as One Day in History – I Remember. He has featured in Channel 9 documentary in 2012, which traces the lives of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's brothers.[48][49] The second season, comprising 13 episodes, aired over 15 months from 16 December 2015. Khan appears in the fourth episode titled 'Pakistan'. Other documentaries, he made appearances include Documentary No 1: The Dream of Justice, Dangrassar).[50]
In 2016, Khan was one of six Pakistani journalists who were sentenced to death in the case of Lakhbir Shaheen.[51] Mohammad Masood, Fahad Ahmed Raveel, Tariq Ahmad Zaman and Munir Ashraf are currently serving sentences of life imprisonment.[52]
In 2018, Khan was among six journalists sentenced to death for breaking the news about the arrest of Kulbhushan Gohil, editor of Express Tribune. On 6 November 2018, he gave a press conference at Islamabad High Court, announcing that one of the journalists who have made statements
