Who is Imran Khan?
FORMER cricket star and ousted Prime Minister, Imran Khan has been in a bid to regain power in Pakistan.
The sporting icon was ousted in April 2022, after serving as Prime Minister of Pakistan for almost two years. But why was he ousted and what is he doing now?
Who is Imran Khan?
Imran Khan was the captain of Pakistan's national cricket team, as well as the country's Prime Minister for one year and eight months.
Khan was born on October 5, 1952, in Lahore, Punjab, but was educated in Britain, attending the Royal Grammar School Worcester and Oxford University.
He excelled as a cricketer in his school days and made his first-class debut in Lahore at the age of 16.
Khan made his Pakistan debut in England in 1971, the same year the hard-hitting all-rounder began a five-year stint with Worcestershire.
After graduating from Oxford in 1976 he returned to Pakistan and became an integral part of the international side after developing into one of the world's fastest bowlers.
During the early 1980s, Khan was unstoppable, his nation's talisman with bat and ball, and secured the all-rounder's double of 3000 runs and 300 wickets in 75 Tests – only Ian Botham has done it quicker.
He became captain of the international team in 1982 at the age of 30, and led Pakistan in 48 Test matches, inspiring his side to their first-ever win at Lords.
By the time he retired in 1992, Khan had scored 3807 Test runs at an average of 37.69 and 362 wickets at 22.81, writing himself into the history books as one of the sport's true legends.
When was Imran Khan Prime Minister of Pakistan?
Imran Khan officially became Prime Minister of Pakistan in July 2018.
Following his retirement from cricket in 1992, Khan became heavily involved in philanthropy, and then moved into politics founding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) party and becoming its national leader in 1996.
Then, he was elected to the National Assembly in 2002, serving until 2007, and was re-elected in 2013 when his party emerged as the second largest in Pakistan.
The nation went to the polls for its general elections on July 25, 2018 with Khan standing as the main opposition against the PML-Party of the jailed ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
However, the day was marred by a horrific suicide bomb attack outside a polling station in Quetta, which left dozens dead.
Khan was declared victorious in the country's general election and vowed to build a "new Pakistan".
On the evening of July 27, 2018, his party emerged as the single largest in Pakistan's parliamentary polls, bagging 114 of the 272 seats being contested.
Khan fell short of a majority so had to gain the support of smaller parties or independents to form a government. He became Prime Minister on August 17.
Khan has also hit out at the US sanctions against Iran, saying they are also affecting his country.
He stated: "The last thing the Muslim World needs is another conflict. The Trump administration is moving towards that direction."
Khan also prioritised close links with China.
Why was Imran Khan ousted?
The ex-Prime Minister was ousted on April 10, 2022, after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership.
Opposition parties brought the vote against him, arguing that he had behaved unconstitutionally.
At a joint press conference, the leader of the opposition party, Shehbaz Sharif said that the motion had been brought upon Khan because of the government's poor performance in economic and social indicators during Khan's time as Prime Minister.
The vote meant that Khan was the first Pakistani Prime Minister to be ousted by a no-confidence vote.
Shehbaz Sharif, took over as Prime Minister and he is expected to remain in the role until the next election in October 2023.
However, since he was overthrown in April 2022, Khan has been dedicated to trying to stage a political comeback.
On November 1, 2022, the former Prime Minister embarked on a week-long march through Punjab to Islamabad, in a bid to gain more popularity and attempt to oust the government of Shehbaz Sharif.
On November 3, 2022, the ex cricketer was shot in the foot in an assassination attempt during his march.
He has been wounded.
Is Imran Khan married and does he have any children?
Khan tied got married to journalist, TV producer and campaigner Jemima Goldsmith in 1995.
They were married for nine years and had two sons together before divorcing in 2004.
Imran's eldest son, Sulaiman Isa Khan, was born in 1996 and his youngest son, Kasim Khan, was born in 1999.
He entered his short-lived second marriage with British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan in January 2015, but they filed for divorce before the end of the year.
Then in February 2018, the cricket legend and politician announced that he had married his spiritual advisor Bushra Manika, following years of rumours and reports about the pair, though they never had children.
His first wife, Goldsmith, tweeted her support for Khan, writing on July 25: "22 years later, after humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices, my sons’ father is Pakistan’s next PM. It’s an incredible lesson in tenacity, belief & refusal to accept defeat. The challenge now is to remember why he entered politics in the 1st place. Congratulations @ImranKhanPTI."