Imran Khan

Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He is the founder and former chairman of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from 1996 to 2023.
Born in Lahore, Khan graduated from Keble College, Oxford. He began his international cricket career in a 1971 Test series against England. In addition to achieving the rare All-Rounder's Triple and retiring with one of the best bowling averages among players with over 300 wickets, Imran Khan holds several individual records. As a captain, he has the world record for the most wickets, best bowling strike rate, and best bowling average in Test cricket, along with the best bowling figures in a Test innings and second best figures in a innings by a captain in Tests. Khan is also credited with introducing neutral umpires to cricket during his captaincy. Additionally, he has won the most Player of the Series awards in Test cricket for Pakistan and ranks fourth overall in Test history. Named one of Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1983 and International Cricketer of the Year in 1989, Khan led Pakistan to its first-ever Test series wins in India and England during 1987, as well as three drawn series against the West Indies in the 1980s.
Playing until 1992, he was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team for most of the 1980s and early 1990s. Although Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 Cricket World Cup, they were eliminated in the semi-finals, leading to his temporary retirement. However, at the request of President Zia-ul-Haq, he returned to captain the team in 1988 and ultimately led Pakistan to its first and only Cricket World Cup victory in 1992. Due to his influence on the game, he is referred to as "The Beckenbauer of Pakistan." Khan learned reverse swing bowling from Sarfraz Nawaz and passed on this technique to Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who developed and popularised it in subsequent years. Considered one of cricket's greatest all-rounders, he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Founding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996, Khan won a seat in the National Assembly from his hometown of Mianwali in the 2002 general election. PTI became the second-largest party by popular vote in the 2013 election, and five years later, running on a populist platform, PTI formed a coalition government with independents, with Khan as prime minister. Khan's government inherited a balance of payments crisis and sought bailouts from the IMF. He presided over GDP growth after initial contraction, implemented austerity policies, and increased tax collection. His government committed to a renewable energy transition, launched the Ehsaas Programme, and the Plant for Pakistan initiative, and expanded the protected areas of Pakistan and Sehat Sahulat Program. The reforms and actions undertaken during his time in office were largely responsible for Pakistan's removal from the FATF greylist, though the official exit occurred shortly after his tenure. He presided over the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused economic turmoil and rising inflation in the country. In April 2022, during the constitutional crisis following the Lettergate affair, Khan became the first Pakistani prime minister to be removed from office through a no-confidence motion.
In October that year, Khan was disqualified by the Election Commission of Pakistan for one term from assuming office in the National Assembly of Pakistan due to the Toshakhana case. In November, he survived an assassination attempt at a political rally in Wazirabad. In May 2023, Khan was attending a hearing on corruption charges when paramilitary forces stormed into the Islamabad High Court and arrested him. Protests broke out throughout Pakistan, some turning into violent riots. Subsequently, his arrest was declared illegal by the Supreme Court. In August 2023, he was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession.
He was subsequently sentenced to ten years in prison in early 2024 for leaking state secrets and violating the Official Secrets Act in the Lettergate affair, and an additional seven years for breaching Islamic marriage laws with his wife; both of these sentences were overturned in mid-2024. Khan has since been charged on matters related to the 2023 riots, clashes between his supporters and police in September 2024, and in the Al-Qadir Trust case in January 2025, receiving a 14-year sentence. As of December 2024, court records showed that 186 cases were filed against Khan all over Pakistan.
Khan was born in Lahore on 5 October 1952. Though some sources state he was born on 25 November 1952, Khan has said that this mistake stemmed from that date being written erroneously on his passport. He is the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife, Shaukat Khanum, and has four sisters.
Khan is of Pathan origin belonging to the Niazi tribe from his paternal family, and claims that one of his ancestors was Haibat Khan Niazi, a leading general of Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century and the governor of Punjab. Khan's maternal family belongs to the Burki community, and has produced a number of cricketers, including those who have represented Pakistan, such as his cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan. According to Khaled Ahmed, Khan is also a descendant of the Sufi mystic and founder of the Roshaniya Movement, Pir Roshan, who hailed from his maternal family's ancestral town of Kaniguram in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan's maternal family lived near Jalandhar, for centuries before migrating to Pakistan after the Independence in 1947.
He studied at Aitchison College and Cathedral School in Lahore. In 2021, Khan revealed that he had played for the Colts Hockey team in the mid-1960s. Khan arrived at the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England in September 1971, where he excelled at cricket. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Khan took a part-time job at a store in England to support himself while studying. He worked during the Christmas season, washing dishes and cutting cheese. "It was my first and only job," he said, adding that it ended after ten days due to an argument with someone there.
In 1972, after being turned down by Cambridge University, Khan was admitted to Keble College, Oxford, where he studied philosophy, politics and economics, graduating in 1975. Paul Hayes, a keen cricket enthusiast, played a role in facilitating his entry.
During the 1980s, Khan was inspired by the writings of the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, the Iranian writer-sociologist Ali Shariati, and the British diplomat-convert Charles Le Gai Eaton. He found their works intellectually stimulating and influential in deepening his understanding of Islam, particularly its potential for creating a just society and its compatibility with Western identity.
Khan had numerous relationships during his bachelor life. He was then known as a hedonistic bachelor and a playboy who was active in London's nightlife, frequently visiting venues such as Tramp in St James's. One or two of his girlfriends were called "mysterious blondes" in British tabloids. During the 1980s and 1990s, Khan was regarded as one of the most eligible bachelors.
His first girlfriend, Emma Sergeant, an artist and the daughter of British investor Sir Patrick Sergeant, introduced him to socialites. The Times states that Emma was the "one woman he truly loved before his first marriage". They first met in 1982 and subsequently visited Pakistan. She accompanied him everywhere, including a hunting trip to Peshawar and a cricket tour to Australia. She painted a portrait of Khan during their relationship at his request. Khan's residence in Chelsea, near Sergeant's studio and Tramp nightclub, became a central location for his social activities. After long separations, his relationship with Sergeant ended in 1986.
Jonathan Orders introduced Khan to Susie Murray-Philipson, whom Khan later invited to Pakistan and had dinner with in 1982. However, their relationship did not progress, as Philipson felt out of place in Pakistan and found their cultural differences irreconcilable. He also had a brief relationship with Susannah Constantine, whom he met through Lulu Blacker. Their relationship lasted for about a year without leading to marriage. Additionally, Julia Verdin and Doone Murray were among the women associated with Khan during this period, with their relationships receiving media attention.
Some of the other women with whom he was associated during this period include Zeenat Aman, Sarah Crawley, Marie Helvin, Stephanie Beacham, Caroline Kellett, Liza Campbell, Goldie Hawn, Sarah Giles, Anastasia Cooke, and Hannah Rothschild. These relationships did not result in permanence, as Khan made it clear that residing in Pakistan was a requirement for a serious, long-term commitment.
Ana-Luisa White, daughter of British industrialist Gordon White, who later adopted the name Sita, began her relationship with Khan in 1986, shortly after his relationship with Emma Sergeant ended. The relationship lasted for two years, ending when Khan reportedly wrote White a note stating that he could not love her as Emma would always be the love of his life. Despite the breakup, White became pregnant after a final encounter in 1991 and gave birth to a daughter, Tyrian Jade, in June 1992. White later claimed Khan was the father and continued to keep a framed photograph of him after their split. Tyrian became the subject of a legal dispute in 1997 when a California court ruled Khan to be her father after White filed a paternity suit. The court issued the ruling after Khan failed to respond to the suit and a request for a blood test. Khan denied paternity and called for a paternity test in Pakistan, stating that he would accept the decision of the courts of Pakistan. After White's death in 2004, Jemima, Khan's wife at the time and a friend of Sita, was designated by Sita as the legal guardian of Tyrian in her will. Khan stated that Tyrian would be welcome to join their family in London, leaving the decision entirely up to her, given her established relationship with his and Jemima's sons.
In August 1992, Khan began dating Kristiane Backer, a German-born MTV host. Their relationship lasted for nearly two years, during which he introduced her to Islam. After their relationship ended, she converted to Islam following a meeting with Khan in 1995.
Khan and Jemima Goldsmith confirmed their engagement on 12 May 1995. The couple announced that they were to marry, with Khan stating that Jemima had converted to Islam "through her own convictions" after studying the religion. Both families approved of the match. A spokesperson for her father denied rumours that Jemima was pregnant. On 16 May 1995, the couple got married in a brief two-minute Islamic ceremony in Paris. Later, on 21 June, they had another wedding in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office before embarking on their new life in Lahore. The couple had two sons, Sulaiman Isa and Kasim. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the couple had divorced, ending their nine-year marriage as it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan."
In a 2009 book, Christopher Sandford claimed that Khan and Benazir Bhutto had a close relationship when they were both students at Oxford. He wrote that Bhutto, at the age of 21, became close to Khan in 1975. They remained in a relationship for about two months. Sandford further claimed that Khan's mother had attempted to arrange a marriage between them, though this was unsuccessful. He also suggested that their relationship was possibly sexual, but Khan strongly denied these claims, stating that they were only friends.
On 8 January 2015, it was announced that Khan had married British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan in a private Nikah ceremony at his residence in Islamabad. On 22 October 2015, they announced their intention to file for divorce.
In 2016, media speculations emerged regarding Khan's possible third marriage, particularly in connection with his spiritual association with the Maneka family of Pakpattan. Reports suggested that Khan had visited Pakpattan multiple times in July 2016, allegedly to meet Maryam Riaz Wattoo, the sister of his spiritual guide, Bushra Bibi. However, these reports were later refuted by Khan and his party. Khan publicly denied the rumours on Twitter, clarifying that the reports about his third marriage were "absolutely baseless" and saying that when he does decide to marry, he would make an official announcement and celebrate publicly. Members of the Manika family also denied the rumour. Khan termed the media "unethical" for spreading the rumour, and PTI filed a complaint against the news channels that had aired it. On 7 January 2018, the PTI central secretariat issued a statement confirming that Khan had proposed to Bushra, but she had yet to accept his proposal. On 18 February 2018, PTI confirmed that Khan had married Bushra.
According to Khan, his life has been influenced by Sufism for three decades, which is what drew him closer to his wife. The Mufti who conducted the marriage later testified in court that Khan's nikah had been conducted twice. The first nikah was performed on 1 January 2018, while his to-be wife was reportedly still in her Iddat. The Mufti alleged Khan believed he would become prime minister if he married her on that date.
As of 2018, Khan owned five pet dogs, with one named Motu residing at his estate in Bani Gala.
Khan made his first-class debut at the age of 16 in Lahore. By the early 1970s, he was playing for his hometown teams, including Lahore A, Lahore B, Lahore Greens, and eventually Lahore. He was also a part of the University of Oxford's Blues Cricket team during the 1973–1975 seasons. Between 1971 and 1976, Khan played English county cricket for Worcestershire. During this period, he also represented Dawood Industries and Pakistan International Airlines. From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.
Khan made his Test cricket debut against England in June 1971 at Edgbaston. Three years later, in August 1974, he played his first One Day International (ODI) match, again against England, at Trent Bridge for the Prudential Trophy. By 1977, Khan was included in the roster of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.
As a bowler, Khan learned reverse swing from Sarfraz Nawaz, who is regarded as the founder of that technique. Khan later passed on this skill to Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who mastered and popularised it. From January 1980 to 1988, Khan took 236 Test wickets at an average of 17.77, with 18 five-wicket hauls and five 10-wicket hauls. His bowling average and strike rate were better than those of Richard Hadlee (19.03), Malcolm Marshall (20.20), Dennis Lillee (24.07), Joel Garner (20.62), and Michael Holding (23.68). Khan was the highest wicket-taker in Test matches in the calendar year 1982. He recorded the best Test bowling figures of his career by taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka in 1981–82.
In 1982, Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan national cricket team. Under Khan's captaincy, Pakistan achieved their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's in 1982. During Pakistan's 1982–83 home series against India, he took 40 wickets at an average of 13.95. In January 1983, he became the second cricketer, after Ian Botham, to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test match during the series. The following month, during the same series, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points, placing him third in the ICC's all-time Test bowling rankings. However, the series also led to a stress fracture in his left shin, sidelining him for over two years. Initially, he could still bat but could not bowl, but after further complications, he was completely unable to participate in cricket. An experimental treatment, funded by the Pakistani government and administered in London, helped him recover by the end of 1984. Khan returned to the national team under the captaincy of Javed Miandad in a home series against Sri Lanka in 1984–85. Miandad chose not to continue as captain, attributing his decision to the internal tension created by Khan's non-cooperation with the team's strategy, which resulted in Khan being restored as the captain.
Khan was the mastermind behind reforming cricket umpiring, driven by his frustration over the constant criticism of Pakistani officials after every series in Pakistan. Writing for The Guardian, Mike Selvey highlighted that "such was his power" that in 1986, Khan invited Indian umpires VK Ramaswamy and Piloo Reporter to officiate a Test against West Indies, marking the first step in an initiative by the International Cricket Council towards independent umpiring. He further advanced the idea by bringing in England's John Hampshire and John Holder for the home series against India in 1989–90. This effort helped counter long-standing accusations against home umpiring, ultimately leading to the 1994 rule requiring one neutral umpire in Tests and the 2002 mandate for both umpires to be independent.
In 1987, in India, Khan led Pakistan to its first-ever Test series win, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England during the same year. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the 1987 Cricket World Cup. He was asked to return to the captaincy by the President of Pakistan, General Zia-ul-Haq and decided to rejoin the team. Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan on another successful tour of the West Indies, which he recounted as "the last time I really bowled well." He was declared the Man of the Series against the West Indies in 1988 after taking 23 wickets in three Tests.
He became the first Asian cricketer and the eighth non-Australian player to win the International Cricketer of the Year award in 1989. He received a Rover 827 Vitesse worth A$72,000. According to Khan, Australia's highly nationalistic press heavily criticised his selection, making him feel as if he had "committed a crime by winning the car." The following day, he arrived for the toss with Allan Border at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the first match of the best-of-three finals, wearing a T-shirt that read, "I'm sorry I won the car." He later told interviewer Ian Chappell that the proceeds from the car would go to his Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital.
As captain, Khan led Pakistan in 48 Test matches, winning 14, losing 8, and drawing the remaining 26. He also captained in 139 ODIs, securing 75 victories, suffering 59 defeats, and ending one in a tie. In Test cricket, he holds the world record for the most wickets as a captain, the second-best bowling figures in an innings (8 wickets for 60 runs), the most five-wicket hauls in an innings (12), and the most ten-wicket hauls in a match (4). Khan has been compared to Franz Beckenbauer in terms of his popularity and influence in Pakistan.
Khan's career high as a cricketer and captain came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. During the tournament, especially in the final, he promoted himself in the batting order. Khan was the top scorer in the final, scoring 72 runs. By the 35th over, Khan brought back Wasim Akram, who delivered the two most decisive blows to England. Khan took the winning final wicket himself. This was Pakistan's first world cup victory. After the victory, Khan proclaimed,
He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka. Khan retired from international cricket after leading Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup Final. He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings, and scored 3,807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136. Khan had the second-highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at number six in the batting order. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket. In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3,709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score was 102 not out. His best ODI bowling was 6 for 14, a record for the best bowling figures by any bowler in an ODI innings in a losing cause.
After retiring, Khan admitted to ball tampering during county cricket, stating that he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He defended his actions, arguing that such conduct was commonplace at the time. Khan announced his return as a domestic league coach in May 2003. Reflecting on his return, Imran remarked, "After Pakistan's disappointing performance in the World Cup, a lot of my friends asked me to help Pakistan cricket and despite my commitments in politics I have agreed to help with coaching," during the launch of regional cricket clinics. He added, "I want to pay back what this country has given me."
Khan has written opinion pieces in the Indian magazine Outlook, The Guardian, and the BBC. Khan occasionally appeared as a cricket commentator on the Star TV network. In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive, while he was also a Sify columnist for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series. He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for the BBC during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
On 23 November 2005, Khan was appointed as the chancellor of University of Bradford, succeeding Betty Lockwood. On 26 February 2014, University of Bradford Union floated a motion to remove Khan from the post over Khan's absence from every graduation ceremony since 2010. Khan announced that he would step down on 30 November 2014, citing his "increasing political commitments." Brian Cantor, the university's vice-chancellor, said Khan had been "a wonderful role model for our students."
During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports and promoted health and immunisation programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. While in London, he also works with the Lord's Taverners, a cricket charity. Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, a charity organisation bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavour, Khan established Pakistan's first and then only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.
As a result of the 2001 Islamabad cloud burst, Pakistan faced severe flooding. In response, Imran Khan auctioned his signed cricket bat from the 1992 Cricket World Cup and the sweater he wore while playing cricket. The bat alone raised $20,000 for flood victims. Khan stated that these were the last two items he had left, as he had previously auctioned off the rest to support Shaukat Khanum Hospital.
Alongside Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq Anjum, also a resident of Mianwali, Khan aspired to establish a cadet college in their hometown. Their vision gained momentum when Governor Khalid Maqbool announced the establishment of the cadet college during a public gathering on 24 January 2002, followed by instructions to prepare a feasibility report. Anjum, wished to return to Mianwali after retirement and aimed to contribute to the district's development. In 2003, he was killed in an air crash along with 17 others including Chief of Air Staff Mushaf Ali Mir. The plan was ultimately abandoned and the college was never constructed.
In 2006, Imran Khan, then Chancellor of the University of Bradford, announced his vision to establish Namal College, a technical institution in his hometown, stating, "I want to make young people employable by arming them with the skills they will need to get jobs." Built by the Mianwali Development Trust on land donated by locals, the college aimed to tackle unemployment. In 2005, Khan signed an agreement with the University of Bradford, making Namal its associate college. Namal officially opened on 27 April 2008.
The Imran Khan Foundation (IKF) established in February 2006, was a welfare organization that supported underprivileged communities in Pakistan, including victims of the 2010 Pakistan floods. On 22 November 2011, the IKF under the umbrella of Akhuwat Foundation, launched a project for disbursing interest-free loans to low-income families in the Nowshera District. In January 2013, IKF announced a Rs30 million emergency relief project for internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees of the war on terror, belonging to the Mehsud tribe of North Waziristan who were neglected by the government. The project provided food supplies, winter essentials, and waterproof tents to 2,600 families in Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In March 2013, Fiza Farhan, representing the Buksh Foundation, signed an agreement with the IKF to establish solar charging stations in 4,000 off-grid villages of Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, and Dera Ismail Khan in collaboration with Coca-Cola, Zong, and Engro Corporation. The initiative aimed to provide solar lanterns to villagers, offering clean energy and socio-economic benefits, while also supporting female entrepreneurs known as "light ladies" to manage the stations. These efforts helped combat energy poverty, improve living standards, and reduce carbon emissions. As of 15 May 2021, the IKF has ceased operations.
Khan was offered political positions more than a few times during his cricketing career. In 1987, President Zia-ul-Haq offered him a political position in the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) which he politely declined. Nawaz Sharif invited Khan to join his political party, offering him the position of second-in-command and guaranteeing 30 seats in the national parliament. However, Khan declined the offer. In 1993, Khan was appointed as the ambassador for tourism in the caretaker government of Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi and held the portfolio for three months until the government dissolved. In 1994, Khan joined the Jamiat-e-Pasban, a breakaway faction of Jamaat-e-Islami, led by Hamid Gul and Muhammad Ali Durrani. However, Khan left the party after becoming uncomfortable with the idea of being seen as a puppet of Gul.
In 1995, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, fearing a potential military coup that could appoint Khan as Prime Minister, responded with marked hostility towards him. The state-run television refused to broadcast archival footage of Imran's cricketing heyday and banned fundraising advertisements for his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital during Ramadan, a month when Muslims traditionally give to charity. Authorities also spread rumors that Imran was suspected of embezzling hospital funds and being investigated for tax irregularities. As a result, donations to the hospital, which relied entirely on charitable contributions, were cut in half that year.
On 25 April 1996, Khan founded a political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He ran for the seat of National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1997 Pakistani general election as a candidate of PTI from two constituencies – NA-53 Mianwali and NA-94 Lahore – but was unsuccessful and lost both the seats to candidates of PML-N.
In the late 1990s, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov hired WorldPR to promote Chechnya's identity, international recognition, and attract support and investment. In 1998, Khan and his wife Jemima led a WorldPR-organised delegation to the war-torn region to advocate for peace and independence. In March 1998, Khan hosted a dinner for Maskhadov in London. In November 1999, Khan condemned the United Nations for failing to stop Russian "atrocities" in Chechnya.
Khan supported General Musharraf's 1999 Pakistani coup d'état, believing Musharraf would "end corruption, clear out the political mafias." According to Khan, he was Musharraf's choice for prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer. Khan participated in the October 2002 Pakistani general election that took place across 272 constituencies and was prepared to form a coalition if his party did not get a majority of the vote. He was elected from Mianwali. Khan's PTI was one of the parties that supported Pervez Musharraf in the 2002 Pakistani referendum. He also served as a part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts.
After the 2003 invasion of Iraq began, Khan participated in a protest held in Hyde Park, London opposing the war, alongside Tony Benn. Here, Khan stated: "The fear is that this is not going to be the last war, first it was Afghanistan, now its Iraq and if the hawks in Washington have their way then its going to be some other country very soon."
On 6 May 2005, Khan was mentioned in The New Yorker as being the "most directly responsible" for drawing attention in the Muslim world to the Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a US military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.
Declan Walsh writing for The Guardian in August 2005, described Khan as a "miserable politician", observing that "Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower... He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next." Political commentator Najam Sethi, stated: "A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn't inspire people."
In March 2006, Khan was escorted by police to his home and placed under house arrest after he threatened to organise a protest against President George W. Bush, who was on a visit to Pakistan.
On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which general Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief. On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest, after president Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Later Khan escaped and went into hiding. He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab. At the rally, Khan was captured by student activists from the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and roughly treated. He was arrested during the protest and was sent to the Dera Ghazi Khan jail in the Punjab province where he spent a few days before being released.
On 30 October 2011, Khan addressed more than 100,000 supporters in Lahore, challenging the policies of the government, and referred to his movement as "not a flood that is coming, but a tsunami." A successful public gathering of thousands of supporters was held in Karachi on 25 December 2011. According to a survey conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in 2012, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) topped the list of popular political parties in Pakistan at the national level, with 31% of the vote. The survey, conducted between February 9 and March 8, 2012, found PTI ahead of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which received 27%, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which garnered 16%. The survey also highlighted PTI's strong performance, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (49%) and Balochistan (35%), where the party secured the top spot, though it was second in Punjab with 33%.
On 6 October 2012, Khan joined a vehicle caravan of protesters from Islamabad to the village of Kotai in Pakistan's South Waziristan region against US drone missile strikes. On 23 March 2013, Khan introduced the Naya Pakistan Resolution (New Pakistan) at the start of his election campaign. Between 2011 and 2013, Khan and Nawaz Sharif began to engage each other in a bitter feud. The rivalry between the two leaders grew in late 2011 when Khan addressed his largest crowd at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. From 26 April 2013, in the run up to the elections, both the PML-N and the PTI started to criticise each other. On 29 April, The Observer termed Khan and his PTI, as the main opposition to the PML-N.
On 21 April 2013, Khan launched his final public relations campaign for the 2013 Pakistani general election from Lahore, where he addressed thousands of supporters at the Mall. Khan announced that he would pull Pakistan out of the US-led war on terror and bring peace to the Pashtun tribal belt. He addressed different public meetings in various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of country, where he announced that PTI will introduce a uniform education system in which the children of rich and poor would have equal opportunities. Khan ended his south Punjab campaign by addressing rallies in various Seraiki belt cities.
The last survey before the elections by The Herald showed 24.98 per cent of voters nationally planned to vote for his party, just a whisker behind former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N. On 7 May, just four days before the elections, Khan was rushed to Shaukat Khanum hospital in Lahore after he tumbled from a forklift at the edge of a stage and fell headfirst to the ground, breaking three or four of his vertebrae. Khan ended the campaign by addressing a rally of supporters in Islamabad via video link while lying on a bed at a hospital in Lahore.
The 2013 Pakistani general election was held on 11 May across the country. Nawaz Sharif and his party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), secured victory in the elections, though there were allegations of vote-rigging, including claims from Khan and other political figures. Khan's party emerged as the leading party in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan's party became the second-largest party in terms of popular vote nationwide, securing 30 directly elected parliamentary seats, making it the third-largest party in the National Assembly of Pakistan behind the PML (N) and PPP. The day after the elections, Asad Umar, a leader from his party, announced that Khan had conceded defeat to PML (N). While Khan's party welcomed the vote, Khan pledged to release a white paper on the alleged vote-rigging and vowed to hold protests. He praised the record voter turnout, particularly the participation of youth and women, describing it as a "step forward for democracy."
While recovering in the hospital, Khan nominated Pervez Khattak to form and lead his party's first provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Khan assumed the role of parliamentary leader of his party in the National Assembly of Pakistan following the 2013 elections. On 31 July 2013, Khan received a contempt of court notice for allegedly criticizing the superior judiciary and referring to it as "shameful." The notice was discharged after Khan submitted before the Supreme Court that he criticised the lower judiciary for their actions during the May 2013 general election while those judicial officers were working as returning officers. Khan's party emerged as the single largest party in the militancy-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and formed the provincial government with the support of coalition partners. Khan was criticised for his support for Sami-ul-Haq, known as the "Father of the Taliban," and for providing funds to his seminary, Darul Uloom Haqqania.
Khan believed that terrorist activities by the Pakistani Taliban could be stopped through dialogue and even offered them to open an office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a step towards starting negotiations. He accused the United States of sabotaging peace efforts with the Pakistani Taliban by killing its leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone strike in 2013. As a result, he demanded the government to block NATO's supply line. On 13 November 2013, Khan ordered Pervez Khattak to dismiss Bakht Baidar and Ibrar Hussan Kamoli of the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) over corruption allegations and to end the PTI's alliance with the party. Baidar, Minister for Manpower and Industry, and Kamoli, Minister for Forest and Environment, were removed, respectively.
A year after the elections, on 11 May 2014, at a rally of his supporters, Khan called for the resignation of all members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the formation of a new ECP, and strict punishment for those who "stole the mandate of the masses." On 14 August 2014, Imran Khan led a rally of supporters from Lahore to Islamabad, demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation and investigation into alleged electoral fraud. On its way to the capital, Khan's vehicle was shot at and his convoy was attacked with stones from PML (N) supporters in Gujranwala. However, there were no fatalities. On 15 August, Khan-led protesters entered the capital and a few days later marched into the high-security Red Zone; on 1 September, according to Al Jazeera, protesters attempted to storm Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's official residence, which prompted the outbreak of violence. Three people died and more than 595 people were injured, including 115 police officers. Prior to the violence that resulted in several deaths, Khan urged his followers to attack police officers after learning that they had initiated a baton charge against his supporters.
By September 2014, Khan had entered into a de facto alliance with Canadian-Pakistani cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri; both aimed to mobilise their supporters for a regime change campaign against Nawaz Sharif. Following the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, Khan called off his 126-day sit-in in the interest of national unity on 17 December, stating, "The briefing by the Peshawar Corps Commander revealed that external forces were behind this attack and that there were future threats as well."
In March 2015, Khan's party reached an agreement with the Sharif administration to form a judicial commission to probe electoral fraud allegations—a move that was facilitated by the then-Army Chief General Raheel Sharif. In July, the commission determined that the elections had been broadly fair and found no systemic rigging. Khan accepted the commission's findings but expressed reservations over not receiving a copy. "We have not seen the report yet, if we had, I would have been in a better position to comment on the report. We will comment on the report tomorrow after reading it," Khan said while addressing a press conference.
In the wake of the Panama Papers leaks in 2016, Khan campaigned against Nawaz Sharif, which revealed offshore companies linked to the Sharif family. He led protests, filed petitions through his party, and called for Sharif's resignation, citing allegations of corruption. Khan's party petitioned the Panama Papers case in the Supreme Court to investigate allegations of corruption involving Sharif's family. Khan described the case as a "defining moment" for the country.
On 7 April 2017, Khan criticised Pakistan's decision to support the Afghan jihad in the 1980s. Khan stated, "We made a big mistake in the 80s by entering into the jihad against the soviets. That left Pakistan with militants, militant groups, we had Kalashnikovs flooded and we had drugs which could be used to finance the war." Khan further added that prior to joining the war, Pakistan never had sectarian militant groups, "Fast forward to another decade later 9/11 happens and we are hunting the same jihadi groups which became terrorists." Khan remarked that Pakistan took dollars to prepare militants and then later took dollars to fight against them. Khan also expressed his views regarding US president Donald Trump stating "When Trump got elected and then I saw his team...I thought to myself he is not as bad as I thought he was, he is much worse."
Khan contested the 2018 Pakistani general election from NA-35 (Bannu), NA-53 (Islamabad-II), NA-95 (Mianwali-I), NA-131 (Lahore-IX), and NA-243 (Karachi East-II). According to early, official results, Khan led the poll, although his opposition, mainly PML-N, alleged large-scale vote rigging and administrative malpractices. On 27 July, election officials declared that Khan's party had won 110 of the 269 seats, giving PTI a plurality in the National Assembly. At the conclusion of the count on 28 July, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that the PTI had won a total of 116 of the 270 seats contested. Khan became the first person in the history of Pakistan elections who contested and won in all five constituencies, surpassing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who contested in four but won in three constituencies in 1970.
In May 2018, Khan's party announced a 100-day agenda for a possible future government. The agenda included sweeping reforms in almost all areas of government including creation of a new province in Southern Punjab, fast tracking of merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, betterment of law and order situation in Karachi, and betterment of relations with Baloch political leaders.
A number of opposition parties alleged "massive rigging" in Khan's favour amid allegations of military interference in the general elections. Nawaz Sharif and his PML-N party, in particular, claimed that a conspiracy between the judiciary and military had influenced the election in favour of Khan and PTI. The Election Commission rejected allegations of rigging, and Sharif and his PML-N later conceded victory to Khan, despite lingering 'reservations' regarding the result. Two days after the 2018 general elections were held, the chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Pakistan, Michael Gahler, confirmed that the overall situation of the general election was satisfactory.
During his victory speech, he laid out the policy outlines for his future government. Khan said his inspiration is to build Pakistan as a humanitarian state based on principles of the first Islamic state of Medina. He described that his future government will put the poor and commoners of the country first and all policies will be geared towards elevating the standards of living of the lesser fortunate. He promised an investigation into rigging allegations. He said that he wanted a united Pakistan and would refrain from victimising his political opponents. Everyone would be equal under the law. He promised a simple and less costly government, devoid of showy pompousness in which the prime minister's house will be converted into an educational institute and governor houses will be used for public benefit. On foreign policy, he praised China and hoped to have better relations with Afghanistan, United States, and India. On the Middle East, he said his government will strive to have a balanced relationship with Saudi Arabia and Iran.
On 6 August 2018, his party officially nominated him as the candidate for prime minister. Delivering a speech during his nomination, Khan said that he would present himself for public accountability for an hour every week in which he will answer questions. After the election, Khan made several appointments and nominations for national and provincial level public office holders. Asad Umar was designated as finance minister. Khan nominated Imran Ismail for Governor of Sindh, Mahmood Khan as Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chaudhry Sarwar as Governor of Punjab, Asad Qaiser as Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and Shah Farman as Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Balochistan, his party decided to support the Balochistan Awami Party which nominated Jam Kamal Khan for chief minister and Abdul Quddus Bizenjo as speaker.
Khan's party nominated Pakistan Muslim League (Q) leader and former Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan Pervaiz Elahi for the slot of Speaker of the Punjab Assembly. Abdul Razak Dawood was nominated to be the advisor to prime minister on economic affairs. Qasim Khan Suri was nominated for deputy speaker of national assembly slot. Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani and Mehmood Jan were nominated as speaker and deputy speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly respectively. Dost Muhammad Mazari was nominated as Deputy Speaker for the Provincial Assembly of Punjab. Khan nominated Sardar Usman Buzdar for Chief Minister of Punjab. Announcing the nomination, Khan said that he chose Buzdar because he belongs to the most backward area of Punjab. According to sources within PTI, Buzdar was nominated as a makeshift arrangement because it would be easier to remove a lesser-known individual when Shah Mahmood Qureshi was ready to become chief minister. Some within PTI suggested that he was chosen because other potential candidates like Dareshaks, Khosas, and Hashim Jawan Bakht declined the offer to take on a temporary role.
Khan was sworn in as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan on 18 August 2018 after his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), won the 2018 Pakistani general election. His inauguration speech emphasised governance based on the principles of the Islamic state of Medina. Early bureaucratic reshuffles saw the appointment of Sohail Mahmood as Foreign Secretary, Rizwan Ahmed as Maritime Secretary, and Naveed Kamran Baloch as Finance Secretary. His first major military appointment was Lt. General Asim Munir as Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence. Khan initially held the Ministry of Interior portfolio after forming his cabinet.
Khan's government faced significant economic challenges after taking office in 2018, inheriting a twin balance of payments and debt crisis. His administration sought to stabilize the economy through a mix of austerity measures, structural reforms, and a $6 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These measures, which included devaluing the rupee, slashing subsidies, and targeting ambitious tax revenue goals, led to criticism from those who believed they contradicted Khan's promises of establishing an Islamic welfare state. Among the unpopular reforms were increased gas and electricity tariffs, straining citizens' daily lives. Despite these challenges, Khan's policies achieved some economic progress. In its 2020 report, the World Bank's Ease of doing business index noted that Pakistan's business environment improved significantly, moving from 136th to 108th in global rankings, driven by six key regulatory reforms. Additionally, Pakistan recorded a 17% increase in tax revenue for the first seven months of the fiscal year 2019.
The government also saw a record-high remittance inflow of $23.1 billion in FY2019-2020, helping to cushion the economy despite broader challenges such as negative GDP growth. Fiscal measures and a significant increase in non-tax revenue helped reduce the fiscal deficit to 0.9% of GDP by the beginning of FY21. However, persistent inflation, stagnant exports, and limited resource mobilization continued to undermine economic growth, with exports contracting by 16.6% in mid-2020. While tax collection showed improvement, Khan's government faced significant economic setbacks, including high inflation and a weakening currency, leading to political criticism. Moreover, the country's debt continued to rise due to high borrowing from previous administrations and the need to borrow an additional $24 billion to repay past loans. In parallel, economic reforms such as the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (FTA-II) were implemented to boost exports.
By the end of 2020, Pakistan's current account had shifted to surplus for the first time in years, largely due to increased remittances. Experts cautioned that the gains were temporary and linked to pandemic-related factors. Additionally, Khan's government made significant strides in the IT sector, with exports rising by 47.4% in FY2020-21. Despite these advancements, Pakistan's economic difficulties persisted under Khan's leadership, with the nation grappling with high inflation, energy price hikes, and a volatile currency, all contributing to political and public dissatisfaction.
Upon taking office, Khan cut government spending by reducing the Prime Minister's staff from 524 to two and auctioning luxury items like bulletproof vehicles and helicopters. Despite criticism over his use of a helicopter, official documents in 2021 showed a 49% drop in Prime Minister's House expenses and a 29% cut in the Prime Minister's Office budget. Additionally, his 12 foreign trips across three continents cost the national exchequer $680,000—far less than a single New York visit by his predecessors.
In July 2018, then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar, launched a fundraiser for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Mohmand Dam. In September 2018, Khan endorsed Nisar's initiative and urged overseas Pakistanis to contribute through voluntary donations. As of November 2023, the dams fund stood at Rs17.86 billion.
His government reported record hydropower generation by WAPDA in 2019–2020, marking a 20% increase from the previous year. Key hydropower projects, including Dasu Dam, Mohmand Dam, and Diamer-Bhasha Dam, were initiated, alongside the $2.5 billion Kohala Hydropower Project (1,124 MW) signed in June 2020. His government pledged to avoid new coal-fired power stations, aiming instead for a renewable energy target of 60% by 2030. The cancellation of two planned coal projects was part of this shift. Efforts towards climate change mitigation included the launch of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, aiming to plant 10 billion trees across Pakistan. The government reported that approximately 1.5 million trees were planted on the programme's first day. However, a special audit revealed over Rs3.49 billion in irregularities, including fake reporting and unverified plantation claims.
In November 2018, after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of failing to aid the U.S. in the War on Terror, Khan responded by highlighting Pakistan's losses and contributions, stating that the country was "not your hired gun anymore."
Following the 2019 Pulwama attack, India accused Pakistan of involvement, prompting Khan to authorize a military response if attacked. This culminated in the 2019 Balakot airstrike by India, which Pakistan countered with Operation Swift Retort, leading to the capture of Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, whom Khan later released as a peace gesture. Khan refused to engage with India after the Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and twice denied Narendra Modi the use of Pakistani airspace.
In September 2019, Khan stated that Trump had asked him to facilitate U.S.-Iran talks and that Khan had spoken to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Trump later stated that Khan expressed a desire to mediate and they had a good relationship. Trump said a meeting between himself and Rouhani had not been agreed upon. He later visited both Iran and Saudi Arabia to ease tensions between the two nations. Saudi Arabia said it had not requested mediation.
Khan also expressed support for Turkey during the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. He also championed the Afghan peace process and facilitated trade by inaugurating a 24/7 border crossing with Afghanistan. On Israel, he reiterated that Pakistan would not recognize it until a Palestinian state was established, aligning with the stance of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In 2019, he was named in the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.
His government also improved relations with Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with Pakistan securing debt relief and diplomatic engagement. His visit to Saudi Arabia was seen as an effort to restore relations strained by Pakistan's refusal to support the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war.
In February 2022, Khan became the first Pakistani prime minister in two decades to visit Moscow, seeking to strengthen economic ties and address Pakistan's energy needs. His visit coincided with the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prompting international criticism, including from the United States, which urged responsible nations to oppose Vladimir Putin's actions. Discussions with Putin focused on "economic and energy cooperation," including the development of the Pakistan Stream gas pipeline.
Khan said that the visit to Russia was pre-planned and aimed at fostering neutrality in global alliances. During a subsequent UN General Assembly emergency session, Pakistan abstained from condemning Russia, with Khan advocating for de-escalation and adherence to international law. He later criticised Western envoys who urged Pakistan to support the UN resolution against Russia. After his government's ouster, Khan stated that the visit had secured offers for discounted oil and wheat from Russia, although this was denied by the Russian Ambassador to Pakistan, who stated that no formal agreements had been signed. The ambassador suggested that the visit may have contributed to Khan's removal from power.
Khan's government faced criticism for suppressing dissent. The Human Rights Watch noted increased restrictions on media and civil society. Journalists were subjected to legal actions, raids, and physical threats, with Khan reportedly referring to them as "mafias" and "blackmailers." Reporters Without Borders condemned investigations into journalists and proposals to centralise media regulation.
During Khan's tenure as Prime Minister of Pakistan, there was progress in improving security, as evidenced by a 13% reduction in terrorist attacks in 2019 compared to the previous year. Challenges remained in regions such as Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and concerns about terrorism financing persisted. In 2019, his government formally banned the Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa and its affiliate Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and arrested Saeed. The following year, foreign investors expressed greater confidence in Pakistan's improving security situation.
Public sector reforms included Pakistan International Airlines achieving operational breakeven after "quite a long time" and golden handshake schemes for employees at Pakistan Steel Mills.
Khan's government launched an anti-corruption campaign aimed at addressing elite political corruption. However, the campaign faced criticism for stalling projects, allegedly targeting political opponents, and being used for political victimization, as raised by the Pakistan People's Party and the Human Rights Watch.
Khan's relationship with billionaire sugar baron Jahangir Tareen soured amid the 2020 sugar scandal, when Khan pushed for an investigation into the matter. The inquiry found that Tareen's company, JWD, received a substantial share of export subsidies between 2015 and 2018, which were linked to the rise in sugar prices. The rift between the two deepened, eventually leading to Tareen's self-imposed exile in London.
In 2021, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) released its three-year performance report, revealing financial recoveries of Rs487 billion. Pakistan's ranking on the Corruption Perceptions Index worsened from 117th in 2018 to 140th in 2021, leading to criticism of the effectiveness of Khan's anti-corruption measures. The Cabinet Division yearbook prepared in May 2022 revealed that the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU), established by Khan, was involved in recovering Rs426.4 billion in collaboration with agencies including NAB, with Rs389.5 billion being recovered under the supervision and assistance of the ARU. As shown in the yearbook, this amount was Rs93.9 billion more than the total amount recovered over the 17 years from 2000 to 2017. The yearbook clarified that the ARU did not directly recover assets but instead supported law enforcement agencies in the recovery process. Throughout Khan's tenure, the ARU faced criticism from the then-opposition, which demanded an audit of the unit.
In 2023, The Daily Telegraph reported that Lt. General Asim Munir intended to investigate corruption allegations involving Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, during Khan's tenure in June 2019. Shortly afterward, Munir was removed as Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and replaced by Lt. General Faiz Hameed. Khan said Munir's proposed investigation was not the reason for his removal.
In September 2019, Khan, alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, announced the launch of a joint English-language TV channel aimed at addressing Islamophobia. In October 2020, Khan criticised the spread of Islamophobia, urging Facebook to ban Islamophobic content and accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of attacking Islam for supporting the cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad. These comments came amidst protests in Pakistan.
In 2021, Khan called on Muslim countries to pressure Western governments to make insulting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad a crime, "likening this measure to laws against Holocaust denial." Khan added, "We need to explain why this hurts us, when in the name of freedom of speech they insult the honour of the prophet... when 50 Muslim countries will unite and say this, and say that if something like this happens in any country, then we will launch a trade boycott on them and not buy their goods, that will have an effect."
In March 2022, Pakistan led a UN resolution to designate March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Khan's government supported the restoration and construction of religious sites for minorities. In Quetta, a 200-year-old Gurdwara, previously used as a school for Muslim girls, was returned to the Sikh community after a prolonged legal battle, allowing worship for the first time in 73 years. His government also supported the construction and renovation of Sikh shrines, including the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. Khan formally inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor on 9 November 2019, providing visa-free access for Indian Sikh pilgrims. While the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) fully supported this initiative, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) criticised it, citing India's negative responses and tensions over Kashmir.
Khan's government introduced the Single National Curriculum (SNC) to standardise the education system, initially targeting classes 1 to 5. The Sehat Sahulat Program was launched to provide free medical care, with over 7 million families in Punjab reportedly receiving coverage. The government also launched the Ehsaas Programme as a comprehensive social safety net. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme reportedly disbursed Rs. 175 billion to 14.6 million beneficiaries. The programme received praise from Michael Barber, who described it as a transparent, results-driven poverty alleviation model.
Khan proposed measures regarding sexual violence, including the public hanging and chemical castration of convicted rapists. However, following objections from the Council of Islamic Ideology deeming chemical castration un-Islamic, the punishment was removed.
Khan's government also responded to a severe locust infestation between 2019 and 2020, declaring a national emergency and implementing measures like aerial spraying. Despite initial delays, Pakistan managed to bring the crisis under control by October 2020, with the Food and Agriculture Organization commending the country's efforts as exemplary.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, Khan initially resisted a complete lockdown, citing Pakistan's economic vulnerability, where a quarter of the population lived in extreme poverty. Instead, his government implemented limited restrictions, such as closing educational institutions and restricting public gatherings, while also introducing screening procedures at airports. He stated that preparations had begun in January 2020 in anticipation of the virus's arrival from China.
After Khan ruled out a lockdown in his 22 March 2020 address, the Pakistan Army intervened at the request of the provinces, imposing a nationwide lockdown within 24 hours. The military took charge of the COVID-19 response, establishing the National Core Committee to coordinate between the national and provincial governments. The Pakistan Army's spokesperson announced that, following government instructions, the army chief had ordered the deployment of all available troops to help contain the virus's spread. Analyst Ayesha Siddiqa described Khan as appearing confused and dependent on the military, which made key decisions without his involvement.
At the Iran–Pakistan border crossing, individuals quarantined under the government's procedures faced inadequate screening, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions, contributing to the virus's spread. The government also faced allegations of corruption, including an investigation into his health adviser Zafar Mirza for allegedly smuggling 20 million face masks.
Khan launched Pakistan's largest welfare programme, distributing a lump sum of Rs12,000 to 10 million low-income citizens under the Ehsaas Programme. The initiative aimed to provide relief to daily wage earners affected by the pandemic. The programme was praised internationally, with the World Health Organization commending Pakistan's commitment to establishing temporary isolation wards.
Khan also promoted a smart lockdown strategy, which used military technology for tracking and tracing COVID-19 cases, targeting specific virus hotspots instead of implementing a nationwide lockdown. He argued that strict lockdowns would devastate Pakistan's economy and lead to starvation. Murad Ali Shah, Sindh's chief minister, acknowledged his efforts to build consensus on lockdown measures.
Khan led calls for debt relief for developing nations during the pandemic, a proposal that gained support from the United Nations and several African countries. His government's response remained controversial, with inconsistencies in federal policy leading to varied enforcement across the country. Religious clerics pressured the government to keep mosques open during Ramadan, undermining safety measures. In May 2020, Khan claimed the lockdown decision had been forced by the elite, without considering the poor.
Khan's government received a 73% approval rating for its handling of the pandemic, according to a 2021 Gallup Pakistan survey, ranking the country 8th among 32 surveyed nations. Pakistan's economy showed mixed results, with a 9% growth in textile exports in February 2021, though overall exports declined by 2.27% in the first eight months of FY21, and imports surged by 27%, widening the trade deficit. The government allowed duty-free imports of cotton yarn to counter a raw material shortage in the textile sector, which had seen increased exports to the US, surpassing India and performing better than Bangladesh.
Fitch Ratings projected a decline in Pakistan's public debt-to-GDP ratio due to the rupee's appreciation and nominal GDP growth but highlighted fiscal vulnerabilities, with a government fiscal deficit of 7.5% of GDP in FY21 and an interest burden of 38.7% of revenue, far exceeding the B median. His government introduced tax relief measures, including reduced customs duty on industrial raw materials, leading to an estimated Rs119 billion in foregone revenue, partially offset by a 17% sales tax on imported food and luxury goods. In July 2021, The Economist ranked Pakistan third on its normalcy index for pandemic response, but the country soon experienced a rise in COVID-19 cases, with the positivity rate surpassing 3%.
In June 2018, before Khan became Prime Minister, Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list due to deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. His government introduced the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2020 in Parliament. The opposition objected to specific provisions, including those granting authorities the power to arrest without a warrant and conduct covert operations. They described these as "draconian laws" that violated fundamental rights and claimed they exceeded FATF requirements. Khan criticized the opposition for blocking the bills, accusing them of seeking an NRO. By June 2021, 26 out of 27 points were addressed and FATF urged swift action to complete the final item.
In June 2022, two months following Khan's ouster, FATF decided to remove Pakistan from the grey list, recognizing the completion of both the 2018 and 2021 action plans. Khan credited his government for the achievement, particularly his former energy minister, Hammad Azhar, who led the FATF Coordination Committee. The Shehbaz Sharif government also claimed credit for the success, while The Express Tribune acknowledged that Khan's government had "done most of the work." Pakistan was officially removed from the grey list in October 2022 after a successful FATF on-site visit.
In early 2022, a leaked Pakistani diplomatic cipher revealed that during a meeting on 7 March 2022, US State Department officials, including Donald Lu, expressed concerns over Khan's stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the leaked cipher, the US warned of potential economic and political consequences for Pakistan if Khan remained in office. The US denied attempting to remove him and instead framed the issues as related to his policies, not internal politics.
On 8 March 2022, opposition parties submitted a no-confidence motion against Khan, citing his government's mismanagement of the economy and rising inflation. Despite the opposition's claims of majority support, Khan remained confident of defeating the motion. However, by 18 March, key members of his party defected, and two coalition partners joined the opposition, resulting in the loss of Khan's majority in the National Assembly.
On 27 March, Khan presented a letter alleging foreign interference in Pakistan's politics, suggesting US involvement in his potential removal. The National Security Council (NSC) also expressed concerns about foreign interference. On 3 April, following the Deputy Speaker's rejection of the no-confidence motion, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly, leading to legal challenges by the opposition. Khan's claims of foreign interference were echoed by Russian officials, including Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who criticized the US for its alleged attempts to punish Khan over his independent foreign policy, particularly his relations with Russia. On 10 April, Khan sent the cipher to the Supreme Court, despite warnings from legal advisors about the potential violation of constitutional oaths and the Official Secrets Act.
Khan was ultimately ousted after a Supreme Court ruling on 10 April that deemed the rejection of the no-confidence motion illegal, with the vote passing in favor of his removal, making him the first Pakistani PM to be ousted by a no-confidence vote. Following his removal, Khan continued to allege US involvement in his ouster, blaming the US for opposing his independent foreign policy, which fostered closer ties with China and Russia. Subsequently, the new government held another National Security Council meeting, rejecting the claim that Khan's government was removed through a foreign conspiracy. However, they quietly agreed with the earlier meeting, chaired by Khan's government, that the U.S. had interfered in Pakistan's internal affairs.
The Government of Pakistan, formed by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), filed the Toshakhana case against Imran Khan in August 2022, alleging he failed to disclose details of 108 official gifts received during his premiership and the proceeds from their sale in his annual report to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and without declaring the proceeds for tax purposes.
Of these, Khan reportedly retained 58 gifts, with only 14 valued above Rs. 14,000 each. On 8 September, Khan rejected the allegations as misleading and false, requesting the ECP to dismiss the case. In a 60-page reply through his counsel, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, Khan disclosed that 329 official gifts were received during his government's tenure, with 58 attributed to him and his wife. He said that all purchases were lawfully declared in his tax returns and wealth statements. The ECP launched an investigation and conducted hearings, with delays as Khan's legal team sought extensions.
On 21 October 2022, the commission ruled to disqualify Khan from holding public office, citing false statements and inaccurate declarations of assets for the tax year 2020–21. A five-member ECP bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case. The defense argued that the ECP lacked jurisdiction under Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution, which reserves authority for superior courts. The CEC advised the defense to file a separate petition on this matter.
On 3 November 2022, Khan was shot in the leg in an assassination attempt in Wazirabad while leading a march to Islamabad to demand early elections. Footage aired on local news channels captured the sound of automatic gunfire and showed Khan being carried away and placed in a vehicle. He was rushed to a hospital in Lahore, where doctors stated that he was in stable condition. One of his supporters, Moazzam Gondal, was killed during the attack, and 10 others were also wounded. The alleged perpetrator, identified as Muhammad Naveed, was overpowered by one of Khan's supporters, thus throwing off his aim, and was arrested at the scene. In a video released by the police, Naveed stated that he acted alone and targeted Imran Khan because he felt the former prime minister was misleading the people. Khan blamed the incumbent government for the assassination plot, primarily prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior minister Rana Sanaullah and the Director General Counter Intelligence of the Inter-Services Intelligence Faisal Naseer, although he did not present any evidence to substantiate these claims. In response to these accusations, both government and military officials strongly denied any involvement in the attack. Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb refuted Khan's charges, questioning how he could demand the resignation of these officials before an investigation had even begun. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan's military, condemned the allegations, labeling them baseless and irresponsible, and said that no one would be allowed to defame the military or its personnel. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also rejected Khan's accusations, calling them grievous.
Khan alleged that a trap was set at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) on 18 March 2023, where he arrived for a Toshakhana case hearing. He said that his colleague signaled him to escape, understanding the situation to be a trap. In an audio message sent to journalists, Khan stated that he had been waiting outside the FJC and was trying to enter, but the police's use of tear gas made it seem that they didn't want him to reach court. Meanwhile, the Islamabad police tweeted that upon Khan's arrival at the FJC, his supporters began pelting the police with stones, prompting them to respond with tear gas. Khan claimed that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had taken control of the area around the FJC the night before. Despite waiting five hours, he did not disembark from his vehicle. Khan said the purpose of 20 unknown individuals in plain shalwar kameez was another attempt on his life, similar to the Wazirabad attack.
Khan also accused police, the Pakistan Rangers, and unidentified individuals of provoking his supporters to create chaos in order to use it as a cover to kill him. He condemned a police raid on his home in his absence, calling it unlawful and a violation of court orders, and added that the plan was orchestrated on the instructions of Maryam Nawaz.
As a result of an arrest warrant issued by the district and sessions court in Islamabad, the Islamabad Police and Lahore Police started an operation to arrest Khan on 14 March 2023. On 9 May, Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court by paramilitary forces who stormed into the courthouse; this was over his alleged role in the 190 million pound case. The case centers around corruption allegations claiming that Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi secured land worth billions of rupees from property tycoon Malik Riaz in exchange for a deal that allegedly caused the national exchequer to lose Rs50 billion (£190 million). The funds, originally recovered by the UK's National Crime Agency, were reportedly intended for the national treasury but were instead used to pay fines levied on Riaz for acquiring government land at below-market value. The couple, who are the sole trustees of the Al-Qadir Trust, are accused of benefiting from this settlement, including acquiring 458 kanals of land for Al-Qadir University in Jhelum. His arrest led to widespread protests and the May 9 riots. The arrest was later declared illegal by the Supreme Court. Following the 9 May riots, many PTI members deserted Khan and founded the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party under the leadership of Jahangir Tareen. On 12 May, the Islamabad High Court declared the arrest illegal and mandated Khan's immediate release. Khan was granted protected bail and released on the same day, meaning he could not be re-arrested on those charges for two weeks.
On 5 August 2023, Khan was arrested for the second time and sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million rupees. On 29 August 2023, an appeals court suspended Khan's corruption conviction and three-year prison term, and granted bail. Despite the suspended conviction in the corruption case, a special court in Islamabad ordered that he remain incarcerated in connection with the "cypher case": Khan has repeatedly alleged that he received a cypher, or diplomatic cable, which contained proof that there was a US led conspiracy with Pakistan's military establishment to oust him from office. The Federal Investigation Agency registered a case against Khan for sharing information on the alleged cypher and leaking state secrets, and thereby violating the Official Secrets Act.
In August 2023, the government submitted a report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, stating that Khan's daily meals included bread, omelette, curd, and tea for breakfast, along with fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, rice, and desi mutton cooked in ghee for lunch and dinner. His cell was cleaned daily by a designated sanitary worker, and additional security personnel were deployed for his safety. The Supreme Court had ordered the government to submit this report following Khan's complaints about the conditions in which he was being held.
On 30 January 2024, Khan was convicted and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment over the case. Khan reacted by urging voters to "take revenge for every injustice with your vote" in the 2024 Pakistani general election on 8 February. One of his lawyers called the decision illegal, and his legal team planned to appeal the decision. Many observers alleged that the sentence was part of a campaign to sideline Khan and the PTI before the 2024 elections; Khan himself described all the charges against him as "politically motivated." Khan's former foreign minister and deputy in the PTI, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was also sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment over the case. Khan's sister Aleema said that prosecutors had sought the death penalty for her brother. The next day, Khan was convicted and sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for the Toshakhana case, which involved the illegal sale of state gifts given to him and his wife, Bushra Bibi, when he was prime minister. The sentence was suspended on 1 April pending an appeal. On 3 February, Khan and his wife were convicted and sentenced to an additional seven years in prison and fined 500,000 rupees ($1,800) each following a criminal complaint by Bushra Bibi's former husband, Khawar Maneka, saying that Bushra did not complete her Iddat before marrying Khan in 2018. On 16 February, his legal team filed an appeal against the three consecutive convictions.
Since his arrest in August, Khan has been held in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where his trial was also held. On 8 February, a PTI official said Khan had been allowed to vote in prison for the 2024 Pakistani general election using a postal ballot. On 12 March 2024, the Government of Punjab imposed a two-week ban on visits to the prison.
On 30 May 2024, Khan told the Supreme Court that he was living in solitary confinement and the government had put restrictions on his meeting with lawyers and family members. The Pakistani government told the Supreme Court in June that the conditions of Khan's imprisonment included a walking area adjacent to his cell, a cooler, a television, and exercise equipment. It said that Khan has access to a separate kitchen and could meet with his legal team and family. In its submission, the government provided photographs of Khan's cell and other items and a photo of a meeting between him and his legal team in prison.
On 3 June 2024, the Islamabad High Court overturned Khan's conviction on the cypher case. Khan remained in prison due to his conviction for a breach of the marriage laws. On 13 July, Khan's conviction in the marriage case with Bushra Bibi was overturned following an appeal. Khan remained in prison and was then arrested on charges related to the 2023 riots.
In June 2024, a United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for Khan's release, arguing that his detention was arbitrary and politically motivated. Amnesty International raised similar concerns, particularly over the conditions of his imprisonment. In an interview with The Sunday Times in July from prison, Khan said he is being held in a small, 'death cell' typically reserved for terrorists. Khan's legal team and his sister, Aleema Khan, said that the authorities are endangering his health and attempting to weaken him by keeping him in poor conditions, she also stated that Khan was suffering from an eye infection. A regular medical examination is performed every two weeks, and no health issues have been reported during his imprisonment by authorities.
On 8 October 2024, an attempted murder charge was filed against him over the death of a police officer during protests by Khan's supporters in Islamabad.
On 22 November 2024, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted Khan bail in the Toshakhana case, but he was not released from jail due to multiple other cases against him. On 24 November, his supporters marched nationwide, demanding his release.
Since the 2022 no-confidence vote, Khan has been named in 186 legal cases across Pakistan, as reported by the Ministry of Interior, Islamabad Police, Federal Investigation Agency, and National Accountability Bureau to court in December 2024.
On 17 January 2025, Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison by an accountability court in the Al-Qadir Trust case, while his wife, Bushra Bibi, received a seven-year jail term.
In February 2025, after a meeting with Imran Khan in prison, his sister Aleema Khan said, "[t]here is no truth in the reports [doing the rounds in the media] claiming that the PTI founder is ill," when questioned about Khan's health and added that Bushra Bibi was being kept in solitary confinement.
During Khan's imprisonment, he has retained a presence in Pakistani politics, with reports suggesting a rise in his popularity, particularly among the youth. There have been a lack of public demonstrations in his favour since his arrest due to media outlets under instructions not to cover PTI's activities, police actions against Khan's supporters making them fearful of arrest, and a reduction in the number of PTI members. The BBC reported that "silent support" for Khan was still strong. Khan has said that his imprisonment has political motivations, alleging involvement by the Pakistan Armed Forces (referred to as The Establishment) and the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Both the military and the government have denied these allegations, with the military labelling them as 'fabricated and malicious,' and Prime Minister Sharif rejecting them as 'blatant lies.' While he was brought before the Supreme Court by jail authorities in June 2024, Khan remarked that Pakistan is under an "undeclared martial law." He argues that his detention is part of a broader attempt to suppress democratic forces and weaken opposition. He further stated that the ISI is responsible for his conditions in jail and suggested that they were involved in attempts to make his imprisonment harsher. He has also stated that he deeply regretted trusting General Bajwa and implicated him in causing the country's turmoil.
Despite his imprisonment, Khan remains politically active, having applied to run in the 2024 University of Oxford Chancellor Election. His candidacy has gained attention, with supporters promoting the campaign on social media.
Khan's candidacy also attracted some concerns due to timing, coinciding with ongoing political unrest in Pakistan and his imprisonment on multiple charges, including corruption and sedition at the time. His supporters argue these charges are politically motivated, critics suggested that his legal battles and the broader political context might distract from his ability to focus on the responsibilities of the role. Some observers saw his candidacy as a way to draw international attention to his political situation and about whether his motivations are primarily political rather than academic.
On 16 October 2024, university officials excluded him from the race of chancellorship stating that his candidacy was disqualified based on established exclusion criteria, which led to the acceptance of 38 out of over 40 applicants. Key factors cited include Khan's prior conviction and his active political role, which were seen as inconsistent with the requirements for the position. Legal analysis from King's Counsel Hugh Southey of Matrix Chambers, as well as policy advocacy group Beltway Grid, said that Oxford's regulations set standards of integrity and impartiality that Khan did not meet.
Khan's sister, Rubina Khanum, claimed that Zulfi Bukhari "had dragged Imran Khan into the chancellor candidacy race for self-interest," further saying "Imran Khan is in jail; what interest does he have in becoming Oxford University's chancellor?"
In 1983, Khan bought a two-bedroom penthouse in South Kensington for £110,000. He sold it in 2003 to purchase nearly 35 acres in Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse. In his statement to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that year, Khan declared his home in Zaman Park, Lahore, an apartment in Islamabad, 39 kanals of land in Islamabad, 530 kanals in Khanewal, and a share in 363 kanals of inherited agricultural land.
In 2017, Khan's 300-kanal mansion in Bani Gala, Islamabad, was worth Rs. 750 million (US$2.6 million), which he declared as a gift in his statement to the ECP. Other assets included furniture worth Rs. 0.6 million (US$2,100) and livestock valued at Rs. 0.2 million (US$690). In 2020, the ECP released another report on Khan's assets, stating that he declared assets worth Rs80.6 million which included a six-kanal plot in Mohra Noori and five inherited plots in Mianwali, Bhakkar, Sheikhupura, and Khanewal. He sold his property in Ferozewala for Rs70 million. Additionally, he purchased a two-bed apartment on Shahrah-e-Dastoor for Rs10.19 million. Khan had Rs50.66 million in a bank account in Pakistan and Rs10.99 million in cash. He also maintained four foreign currency accounts, holding £518, $328,760, and $1,470, with an empty euro account. His declared assets included four goats valued at Rs200,000.
In his nomination papers for the 2024 Pakistani general election, Khan declared that he holds over Rs90 million in multiple bank accounts and over $300,000 in his foreign currency account. He owns over a dozen properties, mostly inherited, including agricultural land and his home in Zaman Park. Khan made a down payment of Rs11.97 million for the apartment on Shahrah-e-Dastoor and listed Rs11.47 million in expenses for his home in Bani Gala. He declared that he does not own a vehicle.
Tax records released by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) disclosed that between 1983 and 2019, Khan paid Rs. 4 million in taxes. The board noted that Khan had been exempt from paying for some years. In January 2022, the FBR published its 2019 tax directory for parliamentarians, disclosing that Khan paid Rs. 9.8 million (equivalent to Rs. 50 million or US$172,727 in 2021) in taxes. For the fiscal year ending on 30 June 2023, Khan's tax contributions increased significantly reaching Rs. 15.59 million (equivalent to Rs. 79 million or US$270,000 in 2021) as his net worth rose to Rs315.95 million. In 2022, his income was Rs185.68m, due to the sale of a watch gifted to him by a foreign dignitary. The year before, his income was over Rs7 million.
Khan is described as a "firebrand nationalist" in the context of his political transformation and campaign speeches. He is described as employing populist rhetoric, combining promises of economic reforms, anti-elite messaging, and appeals to religious values. However, his criticism of Westernized Pakistani elites contrasts with his own privileged background and connections to the Western jet set. Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; leftist economics, with the promise of addressing economic disparity and promoting social welfare; decreased bureaucracy and the implementation of anti-corruption laws to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan. However, Khan's political journey has been marked by inconsistency, including his support for General Musharraf's military regime before later opposing it.
At a rally in May 2006, Khan criticized General Musharraf for "licking George W. Bush's shoes". He further stated that Hosni Mubarak and Hamid Karzai were puppets sitting on the Muslim world.
A US diplomatic cable from January 2010 released by WikiLeaks, revealed that US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson met with Khan at his residence, where Khan criticised the United States for its "dangerous" policies, including drone operations. Another leaked cable referring to Khan, stated: "the man says in private exactly what he says in public".
In a 2012 interview with Barkha Dutt, Khan referred to liberals in Pakistan as the "scum of the country" and labeled them as fascists. Khan said that these liberals supported the bombardment and drone attacks on villages. He added that it was the liberals who backed the United States' policies including the War on Terror that had contributed to the rise of extremism in the country.
In 2010, Khan said in an interview: "I grew up hating India because I grew up in Lahore and there were massacres of 1947, so much bloodshed and anger. But as I started touring India, I got such love and friendship there that all this disappeared."
On Pakistan Day 2011, before a Pakistan-West Indies match at Mirpur Stadium in Bangladesh, Imran Khan became the first Pakistani leader to demand an official apology for the atrocities committed in 1971 by the Pakistan Army. Speaking on Capital Talk, hosted by Hamid Mir, Khan stated, "Army operations always created hatred in Pakistan, and we must apologise to Bangladeshis." He stated that he initially supported the operation due to the lack independent media in Pakistan, but later learned the truth from Bengali friends in England. When Mir asked about local support for Pakistan, Khan replied, "Bangladeshis will support the Pakistani cricket team." He also recalled the affection he received from Bangladeshis during a 1989 exhibition match in Mirpur and warned the Pakistan Army against repeating past mistakes in Balochistan and tribal areas.
In January 2012, Khan claimed in an interview that he was on the last flight out of Dhaka before the Pakistan Army launched the assault for Operation Searchlight on 25 March 1971, while he was there for a cricket match. "These ears heard people saying: 'Small and dark. Kill them. Teach them a lesson,'" he recalled. "I heard it with my own ears." Khan then compared the language he heard back then to what he hears in Pakistan today, stating, "It's exactly the same language which I hear this time," adding that Pashtuns are now the ones being mistreated. "In Pindi, in Lahore, in Karachi, they've been picked up and thrown into jail because they are Pashtun. This is a sad legacy."
In August 2012, the Pakistani Taliban issued death threats against Khan if he proceeded with his march to their tribal stronghold near the Afghan border to protest U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, because he calls himself a "liberal" – a term they associate with a lack of religious belief. On 1 October, Hakimullah Mehsud in consultation with senior commanders of the Pakistani Taliban withdrew the death threats and offered Khan protection for the rally because of Khan's opposition to drone attacks in Pakistan. A spokesmen said: "We are ready to provide them security if they need. We endorse Imran Khan's plea that drone strikes are against our sovereignty," adding, "the anti-drone rallies should have been taken out by the religious leaders long ago but Imran had taken the lead and we wouldn't harm him or his followers.
On 6 October, Khan led a convoy of 10,000 people, including some American members of the U.S.-based Code Pink antiwar group. The convoy was stopped by hundreds of security personnel just miles from the South Waziristan border. After an hour of unsuccessful negotiations, Khan announced that the rally would return to the city of Tank, about 15 kilometers away, where he was expected to address the crowd. Earlier, speaking in Tank, Khan emphasized that the rally would not force its way into South Waziristan. "We want to reach Kotkai but we don't want to fight with the administration because it is a peace march. We have already succeeded in our mission," Khan stated.
His perceived sympathy towards the Taliban, as well as his criticism of the US-led war on terror, has earned him the moniker "Taliban Khan" in Pakistani politics. Commenting on the moniker, Khan stated, "I've been called Taliban Khan for supporting the tribal Pashtuns and I've been called part of a Jewish conspiracy to take over Pakistan. I am of course neither." He believes in negotiations with the Taliban and the withdrawal of the Pakistan Army from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Describing himself as a pacifist and antiwar, Khan has notably opposed military operations such as the War on terror, the Iraq War, the Siege of Lal Masjid, the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, the Gaza genocide, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Khan views the Kashmir conflict as a humanitarian issue, as opposed to a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. In 2013, he proposed secret talks to settle the issue as he thought the vested interests on both sides will try to subvert them. He ruled out a military solution to the conflict and denied the possibility of a fourth war between India and Pakistan over the disputed mountainous region.
In 2014, when the Pakistani Taliban announced armed struggle against Ismailis, denouncing them as non-Muslims, and the Kalash people, Khan released a statement describing "forced conversions as un-Islamic." He has also condemned the incidents of forced conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh.
After parliament passed a unanimous resolution keeping Pakistan out of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in April 2015, Khan took credit and stated that his party was responsible for "many critical clauses" of the resolution.
On 21 November 2015, Imran Khan sent a letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, urging her to forgive Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, leader of the Bangladesh National Party. Khan claimed there was "overwhelming" evidence that Chowdhury was studying at Punjab University during the 1971 War, making it impossible for him to have committed war crimes. In the letter, Khan argued, "If his execution is stopped, it will be in the larger interest not only of our region, but for the establishment of world peace and justice." Despite Khan's plea, Chowdhury, along with Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed of the Jamaat-e-Islami, was executed in Dhaka on 22 November.
On 8 January 2016, Khan visited the embassies of Iran and Saudi Arabia in Islamabad and met their head of commissions to understand their stances about the conflict that engulfed both nations after the Execution of Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia. He urged the Government of Pakistan to play a positive role to resolve the matter between both countries.
While Khan was Prime Minister-elect following the 2018 Pakistani general election, Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center, remarked, "One of the more striking elements of Imran Khan's message on foreign policy is his overtly pro-Iran statements, It's been quite some time since a top Pakistani leader has expressed such sympathies to Iran."
Following the 2021 Fall of Kabul, Khan congratulated the Taliban for their victory in the 2001–2021 war, and urged the international community to support their new government. He also said that his government was negotiating a peace deal with the Pakistani Taliban with the help of the Afghan Taliban.
During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Khan was a popular sex symbol and referred to as the Sexiest Man Alive by the British media. He became known as a socialite in English high society, and sported a playboy image among the British press and paparazzi due to his "non-stop partying" at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp, although he said he hated English pubs and that he never drank alcohol. About his lifestyle as a bachelor, he has often said that "I never claim to have led an angelic life." While interviewing Khan in 2006, Peter Lloyd remarked that his "playboy to puritan U-turn" left many people scratching their heads in wonder.
In June 2011, a Pew Research Center poll showed Imran Khan with a 68 percent approval rating, significantly higher than Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani's 37 percent and President Asif Ali Zardari's 11 percent. Writing for The Washington Post that same year, Richard Leiby described Khan as an underdog, stating that he "often sounds like a pro-democracy liberal but is well known for his coziness with conservative Islamist parties." H. M. Naqvi similarly referred to Khan as a "sort of a Ron Paul figure," noting that "there is no taint of corruption and there is his anti-establishment message."
In 2012, author Fatima Bhutto criticised Khan for "incredible coziness not with the military but with dictatorship" as well as some of his political decisions.
Pankaj Mishra writing for The New York Times in 2012, characterised Khan as a "cogent picture out of his—and Pakistan's—clashing identities" adding that "his identification with the suffering masses and his attacks on his affluent, English-speaking peers have long been mocked in the living rooms of Lahore and Karachi as the hypocritical ravings of "Im the Dim" and "Taliban Khan"—the two favored monikers for him." Mishra concluded with "like all populist politicians, Khan appears to offer something to everyone. Yet the great differences between his constituencies—socially liberal, upper-middle-class Pakistanis and the deeply conservative residents of Pakistan's tribal areas—seem irreconcilable."
On 18 March 2012, Salman Rushdie criticised Khan for refusing to attend the India Today Conference because of Rushdie's attendance. Khan cited the "immeasurable hurt" that Rushdie's writings have caused Muslims around the world. Rushdie, in turn, suggested that Khan was a "dictator in waiting."
After the 2013 Pakistani general election, Mohammed Hanif writing for The Guardian, termed Khan's support as appealing "to the educated middle classes but Pakistan's main problem is that there aren't enough educated urban middle-class citizens in the country."
Ayesha Siddiqa, in September 2014, writing for The Express Tribune, said that "while we can all sympathise with Khan's right to change the political tone, it would be worthwhile for him to envision how he would, if he did become the prime minister of this country, put the genie back into the bottle."
Nevertheless, Khan's approval rating since he became Prime Minister remained comparatively robust for an officeholder in Pakistani politics, with a majority approving (51%), compared to 46% disapproval and 3% undecided. Other polls suggested his approval was as high as 57%. A survey by Gallup Pakistan published in March 2023 depicted an increase in approval ratings for Khan to 61%.
Following Khan's address to the UN General Assembly on 27 September 2019, his popularity surged in Indian-administered Kashmir. The disputed region erupted with firecrackers and chants in support of Khan and Pakistan. Following his arrest in August 2023, his sentence angered many in the region.
During his cricketing days, Khan featured in many advertisements and television commercials as a celebrity brand endorser. These included Pepsi Pakistan, Brooke Bond, Thums Up (along with Sunil Gavaskar), and the Indian soap brand Cinthol, at a time when Bollywood legend Vinod Khanna was also endorsing the same product. His popularity in India was such that it was "unmatched in an era when there were no smartphones to take selfies. He was mobbed everywhere he went." The late veteran Bollywood actor Dev Anand even offered him a role in his sports action-thriller movie Awwal Number (1990), that of a cricket star in decline opposite an upcoming cricketer essayed by Aamir Khan, and as he refused, citing his lack of acting skills, the role eventually went to Aditya Pancholi.
In 2010, a Pakistani production house produced a biographical film based on Khan's life, titled Kaptaan: The Making of a Legend. The title, which is Urdu for "Captain", depicts Khan's captaincy and career with the Pakistan cricket team, which led them to victory in the 1992 cricket world cup, as well as events which shaped his life; from being ridiculed in cricket to being labelled a playboy; from the death of his mother to his efforts and endeavours in building the first cancer hospital in Pakistan; from being the first Chancellor of the University of Bradford to the building of Namal University.
In 2014, Canadian rock band Nickelback released a music video for its politically themed single "Edge of a Revolution", featuring a short clip of a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally among other protests. The brief clip from the rally shows red-and-green party flags along with a poster of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who was the most popular opposition leader.
In 2015, shoemaker Haji Nooruddin Shinwari better known as Chacha Nooruddin, whose business was facing declining sales, gifted a pair of specially crafted Peshawari chappals to Imran Khan for his wedding. Although the double-soled design had been around for years, this gesture brought a surge in popularity. Nooruddin recalled, "The special double-soled Peshawari chapal had been in fashion since long but when I gifted a pair of this specially designed new brand to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Imran Khan on his wedding, the shoe became an instant favourite with all and sundry."
Nooruddin, who imports pure leather from Italy, soles from Japan, and sheet soles from Germany, saw a turnaround as ministers from the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Khan's large Pashtun following in Gulf states and beyond began placing orders. The chappal, now famously known as the "Kaptaan Chappal" after Khan's nickname, quickly became a sought after item. The Kaptaan Chappal's popularity has since extended to figures like Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman and Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan.
In 2019, French designer Christian Louboutin rebranded the traditional Peshawari chappal, dubbing it the "Imran Sandals." The move quickly went viral, sparking criticism for cultural appropriation. Within less than 24 hours of the backlash, Louboutin removed the product from his website and social media platforms. It remained unclear whether the sandals were named after Prime Minister Imran Khan, known for popularizing the footwear, or after painter Imran Qureshi.
In 2017, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member Ayesha Gulalai alleged that she was sexually harassed by Khan, who was party chairman. Gulalai said Khan had sent her "inappropriate text messages." Gulalai made the allegations and quit the PTI just prior to the election of a new prime minister, citing "ill-treatment" of female party members as the reason for leaving. The timing of Gulalai's allegations was met with suspicion, as there were rumours that she had recently met with Amir Muqam, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N). Gulalai denied these rumours, stating that she was not joining the PML-N.
Imran Khan denied the allegations and expressed support for Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's proposal to form a special committee to investigate the harassment claims made by Gulalai. Khan stated that he refrained from further commenting on the issue to avoid impacting Gulalai's life but welcomed an investigation into the matter. He said, "I have never sent indecent messages to her [Gulalai]. I challenge the [proposed] committee to find [the indecent texts] if there are any." Khan also called for the commission to examine alleged messages sent by PML-N leader Amir Muqam to Gulalai's father.
Khan called for scrutiny of a private media group's Editor-in-Chief's phone records, alleging that the issue was raised after four years for political reasons. He accused the PML-N of orchestrating the episode, claiming that "Gulalai was used by the PML (N) and the party was also using [the media group] for its own interests." Khan demanded a comprehensive investigation, further alleging that "money has changed hands" in connection with the matter. He also criticised the PML-N, referencing past incidents involving figures like Nusrat Bhutto, Jemima Goldsmith, and Sita White, and accused the party of using such controversies for political gains. Khan described the PML-N's actions as "shameless" and vowed to "chase them till my last breath."
While addressing the National Assembly of Pakistan in June 2020, Khan referred to the Killing of Osama Bin Laden, saying: "The Americans came to Abbottabad and killed, martyred Osama bin Laden. What happened after that? The entire world cursed at us and spoke ill of us." Khan's use of the term "martyred" (shaheed) sparked widespread criticism, with opposition leaders accusing him of sympathising with violent extremism and defending a terrorist responsible for global atrocities. Public criticism followed, with activists expressing concern about the impact on Pakistan's international image. The speech came after the US State Department published a report stating that Pakistan was a safe heaven for terrorist groups. In response to the report, Pakistan's Foreign Office said the report did not mention Pakistan's role in "diminishing the threat" that Al Qaeda once posed to the world.
A year later, Khan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, stated that Khan's comments were "taken out of context" and that a specific part of the media had "played it up". When asked whether bin Laden was a martyr, Qureshi said "I will let that pass", which Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said may have been an attempt to put the issue behind him and move forward.
In 2021, Khan faced criticism after suggesting that women's clothing could lead to an increase in sexual assault. During an interview with Axios journalist Jonathan Swan, Khan responded to a question about Pakistan's rape crisis by stating, "If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact on the man unless they are robots. It's common sense." His comments were widely condemned. Women's rights groups, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, demanded an apology, arguing that his remarks perpetuate harmful stereotypes by portraying men as "helpless aggressors" and women as "knowing" victims. Critics, such as politician Maryam Nawaz, labelled Khan a "rape apologist," while activist Kanwal Ahmed expressed concerns about the message his words sent to perpetrators.
Then Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Raoof Hasan, argued that Khan's comments on rape were taken out of context. Raoof stated that Khan's government had taken "groundbreaking" measures to increase women's rights and that Khan was attempting to stir a discussion through his statements. Zartaj Gul, a minister in Khan's cabinet at the time, referred to Khan as a "symbol of women empowerment" and argued that his statements had been taken out of context.
Khan later clarified his comments in an interview with Judy Woodruff on PBS News Hour, stating, "Anyone who commits rape, solely and solely, that person is responsible, no matter whatever – how much ever a woman is provocative or whatever she wears, the person who commits rape, he is fully responsible. Never is the victim responsible." Regarding his previous remarks on the issue, Khan said his comments were "completely taken out of context." He emphasized that he would never say such "a stupid thing, it's always the rapist that is responsible."
In his virtual address at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on 24 September 2021, Khan remarked "Then all along the tribal belt (FATA) bordering Afghanistan, – Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt – where no Pakistan army had been there since our independence, they [the Pashtuns] had strong sympathies with the Afghan Taliban, not because of their religious ideology but because of Pashtun nationalism, which is very strong." His comments prompted outrage among many Pashtuns, who called on him to apologise. Khan made similar comments also on 11 October, which triggered a protest in Peshawar the next day by the leftist Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP). The Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) also condemned Khan for "linking the Pashtuns with terrorists."
During his keynote address at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Extraordinary Session of Foreign Ministers on 19 December 2021, which was held in Islamabad to discuss the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Khan said "the idea of human rights is different in every society," giving the example of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan. He further added, "the city culture is completely different from the culture in rural areas [...] we give stipends to the parents of the girls so that they send them to school. But in districts bordering Afghanistan, if we are not sensitive to the cultural norms, then they won't send them to school despite receiving double the amount. We have to be sensitive about human rights and women rights." His remarks were criticised by many people from Afghanistan and Pakistan, including former Afghan president Hamid Karzai. Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai also slammed Khan's remarks, saying: "I nearly lost my life fighting against the Taliban's ban on girls' education."
In 2022, during his speech, Imran Khan referenced a clip of Maryam Nawaz's speech, in which she mentioned his name multiple times. Khan remarked: "Someone sent me a clip on social media of Maryam's speech, somewhere. She took my name so many times and with so much passion, I want to tell her that Maryam, please be careful, your husband might get upset the way you call my name again and again." Khan's comments followed Maryam's repeated tirades against him and his wife, Bushra Bibi. Perceived as inappropriate and misogynistic, the comments sparked significant criticism from both his opponents and some supporters.
Khan has published six works of non-fiction, including an autobiography co-written with Patrick Murphy. In the late 1980s, he served as editor of The Cricketer, a London-based cricket magazine. He periodically wrote editorials on cricket and Pakistani politics in several leading Pakistani and British newspapers. It was revealed in 2008 that Khan's second book, Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan, had required heavy editing from the publisher. The publisher, Jeremy Lewis, revealed in a memoir that when he asked Khan to show his writing for publication, "He handed me a leather-bound notebook or diary containing a few jottings and autobiographical snippets. It took me, at most, five minutes to read them; and that, it soon became apparent, was all we had to go on." Khan's autobiography was published in 2011, detailing his transition from cricketer to politician, as well as the challenges he faced in his philanthropic work.
Khan has also penned op-eds in various media outlets, including CNN where he advocated for conversation and restoration of damaged natural ecosystems.
In June 2024, reports emerged that Imran, while in prison, has been writing a book over the past few months and has already completed over 300 pages.