Imran Kahn 2

Cricket captain, politician, philanthropist (born 5 October 1952)

Imran Khan is indisputably the greatest cricketer to emerge from Pakistan, and arguably the world's second best all-rounder after Garry Sobers. He took a mediocre side and transformed them into world beaters, leading them to the World Cup title in 1992

Few would dispute that Imran was the finest cricketer Pakistan has produced, or the biggest heartthrob. Suave, erudite and monstrously talented, he gave cricket in the subcontinent real sex appeal in the 1970s and 1980s. As such he and TV completed the popularisation of the game in his country which Hanif Mohammad and the radio had begun. Thousands, if not millions, who had never dreamt of bowling fast on heartless baked mud suddenly wanted to emulate Imran and his lithe bounding run, his leap and his reverse-swinging yorker.

He also made himself into an all-rounder worth a place for his batting alone, and captained Pakistan as well as anyone, rounding off his career with the 1992 World Cup. He played hardly any domestic cricket in Pakistan: instead he just flew in for home series from Worcestershire or Sussex, or rather from the more fashionable London salons.

After retirement he remained a high-profile figure, with his marriage - and subsequent split with - the socialite Jemima Goldsmith and a move into the complicated world of Pakistan politics.

Politics

In 1996, Khan founded a political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999, believing Muhamsharraf would "end corruption, clear out the political mafias". According to Khan, he was Musharraf's choice for prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer. The 2002 Pakistani general election in October across 272 constituencies, Khan was elected as MP for Mianwali. He has also served as a part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts.

On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which general Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief. Khan was put under house arrest, after president Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Later Khan escaped and went into hiding. He returned a short time later to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab. At the rally, Khan was captured by activists from the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.

On 30 October 2011, Khan addressed more than 100,000 supporters in Lahore, challenging the policies of the government, calling that new change a "tsunami" against the ruling parties. Another successful public gathering of hundreds of thousands of supporters was held in Karachi on 25 December 2011. Since then Khan has become a real threat to the ruling parties and a future political prospect in Pakistan. According to the International Republican Institute's (IRI's) survey, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tops the list of popular parties in Pakistan both at the national and provincial level.

Photo: Jawad Zakariya/Flickr/Wikimedia • Licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Chatham House/Flickr • Licensed for reuse under CC BY 2.0

Photo: U.S. Department of State/Flick • Believed to be in the Public Domain

Kahn meeting US Secretary of State, John Kerry

Imran Kahn in 2007

Speaking at Chatham House in 2010

In October 2012, Khan joined a vehicle caravan of protesters from Islamabad to the village of Kotai in Pakistan's South Waziristan region against US drone missile strikes.

In 2013, Khan introduced the "Naya Pakistan Resolution" (New Pakistan) at the start of his election campaign. The Observer viewed Khan as the main opposition to the Pakistan Muslim League and Nawaz Sharif. Manzoor Wattoo president of Pakistan Peoples Party (Punjab) offered Khan the office of prime minister in the possible coalition government which would include the PPP and Khan's PTI, in a move to prevent the Pakistan Muslim League making a government, but the offer was rejected.

Between 2011 and 2013, Khan and Nawaz Sharif began to engage each other in a bitter feud. The rivalry between the two leaders grew in late 2011 when Khan addressed his largest crowd at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. From 26 April 2013, in the run up to the elections, both the PML-N and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf started to criticise each other.

Pakistan's 2013 elections were held on 11 May 2013 throughout the country. The elections resulted in a clear majority for the Pakistan Muslim League. Khan's PTI emerged as the second largest party in Karachi and won 30 directly elected parliamentary seats.

Welfare activities

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

In 1991, Khan founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organisation bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. He established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.

Khan also established a Namal Technical College in 2008, in the Mianwali District. It was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), and is an associate college of the University of Bradford.

The Imran Khan Foundation aims to assist needy people all over Pakistan. It has provided help to flood victims in Pakistan. The Buksh Foundation has partnered with the Imran Khan Foundation to light up villages in Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali and Dera Ismail Khan under the project 'Lighting a Million Lives'. The campaign will establish several Solar Charging Stations in selected off grid villages and will provide villagers with solar lanterns, which can be regularly charged at the solar charging stations.

Pacifism

Khan publicly demanded a Pakistani apology towards the Bangladeshi people for the atrocities committed in 1971.He called the operation a "blunder". He repeatedly criticized the war crimes trials in Bangladesh in favour of the convicts, perpetuating the culture of genocide denial on the part of Pakistan.

Khan is often mocked as "Taliban Khan" because of his pacifist stance regarding the war in North-West Pakistan. He believes in negotiations with Taliban and the pull out of the Pakistan Army from Federally Administered Tribal Areas. 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.

Khan views Kashmir issue as a humanitarian problem contrary to the concept of territorial dispute between two countries (India and Pakistan). He also proposed secret talks to settle the issue as he thinks the vested interests on both sides will try to subvert them. He ruled out a military solution to the conflict and denied the possibility of a fourth war between India and Pakistan over the disputed mountainous region.

Source: www.wikepedia.com

Images: Believed to be in the Public Domain or used with permission

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