Imran Khan

Title & tenure

22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (2018–2022)

In office: 2018 – 2022

Predecessor:

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Successor:

Shehbaz Sharif

Biography

Imran Khan, a former international cricket captain who led Pakistan to its only Cricket World Cup title in 1992, entered politics in 1996 and founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, building it over two decades into the party that won the 2018 general election and brought him to the premiership.

Achievements

• Founded Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, a major philanthropic healthcare institution, before his political career
• Launched the "Naya Pakistan Housing" and Ehsaas social-safety-net welfare programmes during his government
• Navigated relations with the United States and the Taliban during the final stages of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021
• Secured IMF and bilateral financial support to manage a balance-of-payments crisis early in his tenure

Key events

• Won the 2018 general election at the head of the PTI, ending the PPP–PML(N) dominance of Pakistani politics since the 1990s
• Government faced sustained economic pressure, including high inflation and a currency depreciation, through much of its term
• Removed from office through a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April 2022, the first Pakistani Prime Minister removed this way, after key coalition allies withdrew support
• Launched a sustained protest and election campaign after his removal, and was later convicted and imprisoned on multiple legal cases that his party says were politically motivated

Legacy

Imran Khan's premiership is remembered for ending the traditional two-party dominance of Pakistani politics, for economic difficulties including inflation and IMF engagement, and for a dramatic, contested removal from office that reshaped the following years of Pakistani politics.

How it ended

Removed via a parliamentary vote of no confidence on 10 April 2022, after losing his parliamentary majority; later arrested and imprisoned on multiple criminal convictions that remain legally and politically contested.