Imran Khan: Sixth Pakistani ruler who studied at Oxford

Famed cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who is most likely to become Pakistan’s next Prime Minister, will join the prestige club of leaders who have studied at the Oxford University.

Once Imran takes oath as the PM of Pakistan, he will be the sixth national leader to become the Oxford-graduate Pakistani ruler after first prime minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan, ex-president and prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, former prime minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, former premier Benazir Bhutto and former president Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari.

Khan was educated at Keble College at the University of Oxford, England in 1975. He read philosophy, politics, and economics during his time there and even captained the university’s cricket team.

After graduating from Oxford, Khan returned to Pakistan in 1976 where he secured a permanent place in the national cricket team. Over the years his reputation grew as did his credentials for being one of the world’s fastest bowlers.

As the 1970s rolled on, Imran developed into a world-class cricketing “all-rounder”, and became captain of the Pakistani national side in 1981. Declared international cricketer of the year in 1989-90, he led Pakistan to victory in 1992 World Cup.

In 1996, Imran launched his political party in Pakistan known as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).

Around the same time, he opened the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Cancer Hospital in memory of his mother who had died from the disease. Today it has won international recognition as one of the leading institutions for free cancer treatment in the world.

He lost a first parliamentary election in 1997, before finally winning a seat in 2002. He resigned in 2007 along with other members, in protest at Pervez Musharraf’s re-election as president while still army chief.

The turning point for his party was PTI’s mammoth public gathering in Lahore on October 30, 2011. The massive attendance of his well-wishers and his supporters pronounced Khan’s arrival in the mainstream politics and virtually posed a threat to other political forces of the country. The rally prompted assumptions among political circles that Khan’s party would likely win the 2013 general elections, but it didn’t go that way. His party though received second largest number of votes after PML-N.

And in the 2018 elections, Khan’s party emerged, as per the results released so far, as the top with highest number of votes.