How Pakistan's cricket superstar became prime minister

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.

Channel: Vox

Views: 1,717,186

Keywords: pakistan, Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, India, Afghanistan, Taliban, Taliban Khan, Jemima Khan, Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto, Pakistan news, Pakistan history, Pakistan election, Pakistan politics, Pakistan prime minister, PTI, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan parliament, Pakistan US relations, foreign policy, India Pakistan relations, imran khan speech, imran khan victory, imran khan pti, imran khan biography, pakistan news, pakistan democracy, world news

Id: BE9kOlBRHok

Length: 8min 2sec (482 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 29 2018