Explained: Who is Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan and why was he arrested?

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan was arrested for corruption charges on Tuesday afternoon. He is to be presented in court soon. Here's everything to know about him.

Former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, who was removed from office last April, was arrested for corruption charges on Tuesday afternoon. While he is being presented at the court, his supporters have been protesting across the country leading to widespread unrest.

Who is Imran Khan?

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Many from the ’90s era will remember the 70-year-old Imran Khan as the Pakistani cricket captain who won the nation its first and only World Cup. Many now see him as a politician in distress.

Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi was born in Lahore to an affluent family. His father was a civil engineer and he has four sisters. He comes from the Pashtun ethnicity, also called Pathans. Growing up, he received a privileged education and went on to graduate from Keble College, Oxford, in 1972.

He married thrice. He married his first wife, British-born Jemima Goldsmith, in 1995 when he was a star cricketer who just won his country the World Cup. The couple got divorced in 2004.

In 2015, he married journalist Reham Khan and they divorced within months. She, later on, went on to criticise Khan on several of his political moves. He then married his spiritual guide Bushra Bibi in 2018.

Cricketing career

He made his cricket debut at the age of 16 for Lahore’s home teams. He also played English-county cricket during his time at Oxford. He made his test cricket debut against England in 1971 and started playing regularly for the Pakistan national team in 1976.

He was an all-rounder and was particularly known to be one of the fastest bowlers in the world at that time with a bowling speed of around 140 km/hr. He was made captain of the team in 1982, and led his team to their first Test match win on English soil at Lord’s.

Among many other wins to his name, Khan’s career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Interestingly, he had already retired and was then called back to join the team in 1988 by the then President of Pakistan General Zia-Ul-Haq.

Political career

After his world cup win, he tried to convert that popularity and launch his political career. He launched his political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 1996. However, he struggled for several years until 2011 when he gained some momentum.

His populist, anticorruption, and anti-American message is what helped him garner support throughout his country as thousands gathered for his rallies. He is generally described as a nationalist politician.

After gaining the backing of military leaders who play an important role in Pakistani politics, Khan became Prime Minister in 2018. He was best known for introducing a new foreign policy for the country that essentially moved away from the United States, and closer to Russia and China.

Allegations and arrest

Although Khan came to power on an anti-corruption mandate, he fell prey to the very same allegations. He was accused of favouring Malik Riaz Hussain, a real estate tycoon.

In addition to that, he was accused of mishandling the company’s economy and also had a dispute with the military over its leadership and responsibilities. This is what the experts say has cost him his seat.

He was removed as the PM in a Parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and, later, in November he was wounded during a political rally as a man opened fire on him. Many called it an assassination attempt on him.

He now faces a series of charges, including corruption and terrorism. He has publicly claimed that the government and the military are falsely accusing him and are conspiring against him.

Khan was arrested on Tuesday in a case involving the transfer of land for Al-Qadir University, near Islamabad. Pakistani rupee and bonds fell to a new low, apart from protests across the country.