Imran Khan, former Pakistani cricketer who led his country to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup and now, the leader of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was sworn in as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister today. Khan, who had begun his career in politics in the late 90s, was sworn in after his party PTI emerged the single largest party in the 2018 General Elections.
Khan, the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan is also the first Prime Minister to replace another Prime Minister after a democratic process in the country since independence. The former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML (N) was recently arrested on corruption charges.
The election saw Imran Khan defeating not just the PML (N), led by Sharif’s brother Shahbaz but, also the Pakistan People’s Party, led by Bilawal Bhutto, son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
As Prime Minister, Imran Khan has promised to clamp down on corruption that he had alleged to have been rampant under the previous administration. “Those people who have looted the country, I promise they’ll be brought to justice,” Imran Khan has said.
However, rampant corruption isn’t the only challenge Imran Khan’s new government faces. Pakistan’s economy is reeling and is in desperate need of another financial bailout, the second in five years. However, the US has opposed any such bailout by the IMF, suggesting that Pakistan might just use the bailout to pay off its huge financial debt to China.
Imran Khan has also declared that he will take strong action against religious extremism and militancy, a claim that does not convince a lot of people in Pakistan considering much of his campaign was catered to and has appealed to religious extremists. In fact, Khan was also known to be the one major Pakistani politician promising to hold peace talks with groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban, who were guilty or orchestrating many major attacks over the past few years, including an attack on an army school which killed over 130 children.
PM Imran Khan has also promised to improve bilateral relations between India and Pakistan and has already made overtures to many in India. He even offered an invitation to many prominent Indian personalities to attend his swearing-in.
However, only time will tell how fruitful PM Imran Khan’s ascendancy proves to be to Indo-Pak relations.
