FORMER CRICKETER POISED TO TAKE POWER IN PAKISTAN.
Former cricketer pledges rule ‘for the masses’
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN • Imran Khan, a former Pakistani cricket star and celebrity playboy who became a charismatic anti-establishment politician, declared victory Thursday for his party in elections that were marred by violence and charges of fraud.
Official results aren’t expected until Friday, but Khan’s formidable lead signalled a humiliating defeat for one of Pakistan’s most powerful political dynasties.
Khan, 66, delivered a sweeping, statesmanlike address from his sprawling home in the hills above this capital city, saying he wanted Pakistan to become the democracy envisioned by its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in 1948. He vowed to build a state that “cares for the weak,” end corruption and ensure equal justice for all citizens.
“I pledge to my people that I will introduce a governance system that is for the masses, and all policies will be for the people and not for the elite,” Khan said, wearing a traditional white tunic and speaking from an empty desk. He pledged to set an example by living “humbly” and eschewing the luxuries of political power such as the prime minister’s mansion. “I would be embarrassed to stay in such a house,” he said.
But with leaders of the long-ruling Pakistan Muslim League and other parties alleging fraud and rigging at the polls, the strong reported showing by Khan’s Pakistan Justice Movement — at least 100 of 272 legislative seats won by his party so far — seemed likely to trigger a period of political turmoil rather than a smooth transition of power.
Khan said he wanted to have relations with the United States that are “mutually beneficial, not one sided,” though he did not elaborate.
A tireless campaigner, Khan is likely but not guaranteed to become Pakistan’s next prime minister. If his party does not win 141 seats, as seems unlikely, he will need to build a coalition, partnering with some of the parties that are now complaining of fraud.
“In 2013, when I was protesting against rigging, none of these parties helped me,” Khan protested in his speech. “But I am ready to open every seat, whichever they want. … I feel this election has been the fairest in Pakistan’s history, and still if any party has any doubt, we will open up the result of those constituencies for investigations.”
Such an offer seems unlikely to placate the leaders of the Muslim League, led by the wealthy Sharif family, which has dominated power in Pakistan for decades. Its former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was ousted last year after charges of financial wrongdoing were brought by Khan and others. Now, Sharif is in prison and his party appears to have suffered a fatal political blow.
Khan’s election marks the end of a long transformation from nightclubbing sportsman to a conservative, nationalist leader.
His declaration in the mid-1990s that he would trade his sporting popularity for Pakistan’s brutal politics was scorned, and he spent years at the political margins.
His former wife, Jemima Goldsmith, told The Daily Telegraph Thursday his victory followed 22 years of “humiliations, hurdles and sacrifices.”
Friends and foes describe him as relentless, charming, swaggering and highly unpredictable.
As a young man, his good looks, prowess on the cricket pitch and success with women made him something of a fascination in England, where he lived for a time.
But a complex, mysterious transformation would begin soon after. In 1992, Khan captained Pakistan’s cricket team to a World Cup victory over England. It was a moment of immense Pakistani pride, and Khan was at the centre of it.
He began to stay away from the clubs, the partying, the girlfriends. He began a quest to build a cancer hospital in Pakistan for the poor.
He turned to Islam and the Sufi sect, which he said helped lend purpose to his life.
Then he entered politics. For years, Khan had tried but failed to take the reins of his country. But this time around, he found a powerful ally in Pakistan’s military.