Imran Khan's Journey Fraught with Political Peril, But Populist Leader Looks Ahead at Second Term as Pak PM
News 18Fraught with political and, now mortal, peril, Imran Khan’s journey from one of international cricket’s biggest stars to Pakistan prime minister has been a rough one. The 70-year-old populist leader, who many of his supporters say was “great” while he was in power, is hoping to be propelled to Pakistan’s highest office for a second term. “That’s why I have this massive following right now.” Entered politics as a ‘reformer’ When he founded his Pakistan tehreek-e-Insaf in 1996, Khan intended to be a political reformer, taking a stand against corrosive corruption and dynastic families that have historically held power. Last week, the head of the country’s main intelligence service and chief of military public relations held an unprecedented press conference where they defended the institutions against Khan’s accusations that they were meddling in politics.