Iconic cricketer Imran Khan today has started a new inning not in cricket but in Pakistan’s governance as the former cricket legend was sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan today.
Khan was elected by Lawmakers in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament after received 176 votes in the 342-seat National Assembly where he beat rival candidate, Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) yesterday.
During the oath-taking ceremony, Khan was handsomely clad in a waistcoat and traditional black Sherwani and he was smiling pleasantly. He clutched prayer beads and was seen wiping tears from his eyes as the count was announced. His swearing in ceremony is regarded as a milestone to the end of decades of rotating leadership between two parties- Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) - followed by periods of military rule.
President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain administered oath to Imran Khan in a ceremony started with recitation (tilawat) of the Holy Quran as well as playing of Pakistan’s national anthem.
Important dignitaries like Wasim Akram, Navjot Singh Sidhu, filmstar Javed Sheikh, singer Abrarul Haq, KP chief minister Mahmood Khan, Fehmida Mirza, Chahdry Sarwar, Zartaj Gul and several others were present in the oath-taking ceremony.
Speaking after the death of former Prime Indian Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Imran Khan said that best way to honour the "towering leader" is by establishing peace between India and Pakistan.
Although Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) won with a majority in July 25 election the party will still need support from independents and smaller parties as it does not have enough seats in parliament to form a majority government. Imran Khan’s only challenger could be Shahbaz Sharif, but his Pakistan Muslim League party suffered a major blow when they won only 92 seats in last month’s elections.
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