It’s been a long journey for Imran Khan. He founded his political party, PTI (Pakistan Movement for Justice), in 1996, and for many years made no real progress. Many mocked him. The Guardian journalist Declan Walsh dismissed him as ‘a miserable politician’, whose ideas and affiliations had ‘swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower’.
PTI did make a limited amount of progress in the 2013 general elections, when it emerged as the second largest party by national vote and with 30 parliamentary seats. Furthermore, Khan’s party secured control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province). But none of this was enough to challenge for national power.
The outlook has changed dramatically over the past three months. The world needs to take seriously the prospect that Pakistan’s sporting idol and former Test cricket captain may be its next prime minister.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), mired in complacency and corruption, is no longer a significant national force.
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