Imran Khan

[pakedu]

President Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf

Born: 25 November 1952
Profession: Politician, Cricket Player
Affiliation(s): Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf
Citizenship: Pakistani

Imran Khan (Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi; son of Ikram Ullah khan Niazi Shermankhel) born November 25, 1952, in Lahore is a Pakistani former cricketer turned politician. Imran played Test cricket for Pakistan between 1971 and 1992, and was captain of the national team when they won their maiden World Cup in 1992. Currently, Imran is a Ex-member of Parliament and leader of the political party, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).

History and Background
Imran is from the Niazi Pashtun Shermankhel tribe of mianwali Pakistan. His family is settled in Lahore Punjab, however, he still considers himself and his heritage Pashtun (Pathan) as per his autobiography
(Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans).

Imran attended Aitchison College and the Cathedral School in Lahore until he finished middle school, then entered the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, before completing his formal schooling with an undergraduate degree in economics from Keble College, Oxford. While at University, Imran was also the captain of the Oxford University cricket team in 1974. He and his mother Shaukat khanum comes from a cricketing burki family, with two of his cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan also having played Test cricket for Pakistan.

As Cricket Player
Imran is seen as one of the finest all-rounders the game has ever produced, along with Garfield Sobers, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee and Wasim Akram. He was one of the fastest bowlers of the world during the late 1970s and early 1980s and in the later half of his career, one of the best batsmen in the Pakistan team. More significantly, as a captain, he transformed the Pakistan team, previously known for its exceptional talent but lack of coherence into a well moulded unit.

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year. During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team. Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well". He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting lineup, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself. Khan's acceptance of the World Cup trophy on behalf of the Pakistani team

This famous Pashtun is not only known for his performances on the field, but off the field as well. Labelled by some as an international playboy, Khan was once voted as the "Sexiest Man of The Year" by Australia Magazine Oz.

Social work
(Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre and Namal College)
For more than four years after retiring from cricket in 1992, Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organization bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavor, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.Inspired by the memory of his mother, who died of cancer, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care, opened in Lahore on 29 December 1994.Khan currently serves as the chairman of the hospital and continues to raise funds through charity and public donations.During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sportsand promoted health and immunization programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

On 27 April 2008, Khan's brainchild, a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College, was inaugurated. Namal College was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), as chaired by Khan, and was made an associate college of the University of Bradford in December 2005.[31] Currently, Khan is building another cancer hospital in Karachi, using his successful Lahore institution as a model. While in London, he also works with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket charity

Political Early Years
In 1997, he has started a socio-political movement in Pakistan known as Movement for Justice (Tehrik-e-Insaaf) and ran for office in the National Elections. The movement has Islamic overtones and was inspired partly by Khan's renewed commitment to Islam. He became a Member of Parliament for Mianwali in the October 2002 elections. He is very critical of the judicial system in Pakistan, which he says prevents accountability for the elite class i Pakistan. Initially Imram supported 1999's militray coup of General Pervez Musharraf, however came in to the fore-front of those against General and President Musharraf.

After imposition of the state of emergency by General Musharraf on November 3, 2007, Imran Khan was put under house arrest but his succeeded in slipping away. However, he was arrested from the University of Punjab campus in Lahore a few days later with help of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talba, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. On November 19, 2007, he let out the word through his party members and family that he had begun a hunger strike. He was one of the 3,000 political prisoners released from imprisonment on November 21, 2007.