Rise and fall of Imran Khan: 10 things to know about cricketer-turned-Pakistan PM

From becoming the greatest (arguably) cricketer to have braced Pakistan and winning the World Cup to launching his own political party and then going on to become the country’s prime minister, the boy from Lahore with a Midas-like touch, caught on a sticky wicket, has now been ousted as the Prime Minister of Pakistan through a historic no-confidence motion passed in a midnight session of the National Assembly.

The cricketer-turned-politician had been in the eye of political wrath that put his prime ministerial seat at risk. The former cricket star, embattled by a sinking economy, faced a series of resignations from his allies and cabinet members, and lost the majority in the Pakistan National Assembly, braving a no-confidence motion tabled by opposition parties in Parliament.

He is the first prime minister of Pakistan to lose office through a vote of no confidence.

Here’s are 10 things to know about Imran Khan:

1. Imran Khan was a famed international cricketer and the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team before entering politics.
2. Khan founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in 1996 but managed limited success in the initial years. The PTI, which is currently the ruling party of Pakistan, had lost two elections in 1997 and 2002.
3. Khan was offered political positions several times before he retired as a cricketer. In 1987, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who was the president at that time, offered Khan a position in the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). He was also invited by Nawaz Sharif to join his party. He declined both offers.
4. Prior to entering politics, Khan also wrote a tell-all autobiography which blew up into controversy for revealing several shocking details about the former cricketer.
5. Khan’s party also boycotted the 2008 elections calling them rigged and later spearheaded a political campaign, emerging as a major party in the 2013 elections. The PTI then became the second-largest party in the number of votes and third in the number of seats won.
6. As a leading opposition party, Khan’s PTI mobilised the public raising various issues, the most prominent being the Azadi March. By 2018, Khan had garnered enough vote confidence and in the general elections that year, the PTI secured 116 out of the 270 seats contested.
7. Khan made great promises during his oath, laying out policies with a vision to build Pakistan as a humanitarian state. Despite his efforts, he failed to revive the moribund Pakistan economy and got caught up in his own rhetoric.
8. Khan has also often been compared to Donald Trump, for he, in true Trumpian fashion, often termed all Opposition leaders as corrupt and claimed that only he could save Pakistan.
9. Khan also came under criticism, from the international press as well as the opposition parties, for calling al Qaeda founder and 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden a “martyr”.
10. The cricketer-turned-politician lost the no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition, which garnered a total of 174 votes in favour in the National Assembly. While it is not immediately clear when the assembly will choose a new premier, speculations are that opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was almost certain to be picked to lead the nuclear-armed nation.