Explainer
Who is Imran Khan? From Oxford to cricketing and political success via a playboy lifestyle
In 1992, the people of Pakistan celebrated as Khan led his country’s cricket team to World Cup glory by telling them to fight like “cornered tigers”. Three decades later his supporters are clashing with police as he appears in court on corruption charges.
Tom Gillespie
News reporter @TomGillespie1
Wednesday 10 May 2023 15:01, UK
Listen to this article
0:00 / 4:40
1X
BeyondWords
Audio created using AI assistance
0:53
Play Video – Who is Imran Khan?
Who is Imran Khan?
Why you can trust Sky News
Pakistan’s controversial cricket legend and former prime minister Imran Khan has been arrested a year after he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote.
Mr Khan, who was previously married to British heiress Jemima Goldsmith and enjoyed a playboy lifestyle during his sporting career, is facing corruption charges as his supporters clash with police.
Here we take a look at the life of Mr Khan which has taken him from the cricket pitch to the political arena – and more recently to the courtroom.
From Lahore to Oxford
Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi was born into an affluent family in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1952.
As a young man, he was educated at the University of Oxford where he graduated from Keble College in 1975.
His international cricket career had begun four years earlier when he made his debut for Pakistan against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
A controversial political figure
Although he rose to international prominence as a cricketer in the 1970s, he is in the public eye today as the former prime minister of Pakistan.
He was elected in 2018 after running as a nationalist promising to fight corruption.
However, in April 2022 he was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote.
The vote was called over claims of economic and political mismanagement, with opponents blaming him for failing to revive the economy and tackle corruption.
Mr Khan accused his opponents of colluding with the US to remove him but provided no evidence.
He also urged people to take to the streets to protest against his removal from power.
Pic: AP0:50
Play Video – Khan lawyer says arrest was ‘state abduction’
Khan lawyer says arrest was ‘state abduction’
Why has he been arrested?
A little over a year after being removed from office, Mr Khan has been arrested by dozens of officers in the Pakistan capital Islamabad where he is said to have appeared in court on corruption charges.
A judge was asked to approve keeping the 70-year-old opposition leader in custody for up to 14 days.
Mr Khan will be held for eight days for questioning, the judge ruled on Wednesday.
Shortly before he was detained, he appeared to record a video from an unknown location with the caption saying officials were out to arrest him to prevent him from campaigning.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures in a video statement
Image:
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures in a video statement
The irony of the charges will not be lost on many – as Khan had vowed to crack down on corruption when he founded Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party in 1996.
However, Mr Khan remains the country’s most popular opposition figure and his arrest deepened political turmoil and sparked violent demonstrations on Tuesday.
At least four people have been killed in the violence so far – one in the southwestern city of Quetta and three others in northwestern Pakistan, and dozens were wounded in various parts of the country.
Read more:
UK has reason to be worried about Pakistan chaos
Several dead in protests as Khan to be held for days
Petrol bombs thrown at police as they raid Khan’s home
Supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan chant slogans next to burning tires during a protest to condemn the arrest of their leader, in Hyderabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Pakistan's anti-graft agents on Tuesday arrested former Prime Minister Khan as he appeared in a court in the capital, Islamabad, to face charges in multiple graft cases, police and officials from his party said. (AP Photo/Pervez Masih)
Image:
Khan supporters chant next to burning tyres during a protest against his arrest. Pic: AP
A sporting icon
Mr Khan is considered to be one of the greatest all-rounders to ever play cricket and his place in the history books was assured when he captained Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992.
The victory over England led to scenes of celebration across his cricket-loving nation.
Ahead of the final he famously told his team to “fight like cornered tigers” in a rousing speech that has gone down in sporting history.
During his career, which started in the late 1960s and ended in the early 1990s, Mr Khan had stints at English county cricket sides Worcestershire and Sussex.
Khan, clutching his country's flag, celebrates his 1992 World Cup success. Pic: AP
Image:
Khan, clutching his country’s flag, celebrates his 1992 World Cup success. Pic: AP
The playboy
Six feet tall, urbane and with a voice that reveals his Oxford education, Mr Khan gained a reputation as a playboy and party animal during his sporting career.
He began to settle down when he married British heiress Jemima Goldsmith in 1995, a year before he founded his political party.
They had two children but divorced in 2004 after nine years together.
Imran and Jemima Khan on their wedding day in Richmond, southwest London, on June 1995 Pic: AP
Image:
Imran and Jemima Khan on their wedding day in Richmond, southwest London, on June 1995. Pic: AP
His second marriage to journalist and weather presenter Reham Khan lasted 10 months before he reportedly “divorced her by text message” in 2015.
He married his current wife Bushra Bibi Khan (formerly Maneka), a faith healer who had treated him, in 2018.
Mr Khan was also the subject of a #MeToo claim in Pakistan in 2017.
His accuser, Ayesha Gulalai Wazir, who was an MP from his own party, alleged he sent her “inappropriate” text messages in 2013 and called for a parliamentary investigation.
He denied the allegation.
Related Topics
Imran Khan
Pakistan
