AITCHISON COLLEGE CELEBRATES OUR NEW PRIME MINISTER, OLD BOY IMRAN KHAN
August 17th, 2018
The College is very proud that one of our famous old boys will shortly be sworn in as the 22nd elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Imran Khan attended Aitchison College from 1960 to 1969. He then joined Royal Grammar School Worcester to complete his secondary education. In 1972, he read Economics and Politics at the prestigious University of Oxford.
Cricket has been an integral part of Imran’s life since childhood. At Aitchison, he earned his cricket colours and was a member of the College Cricket team. He was House Captain of his House Cricket team and also Oxford’s cricket team in 1974.
In the seventies, Imran began to be recognized as a top class all-rounder. In 1981, he became the Captain of Pakistan. In 1989-90, he was declared the International Cricketer of the year, eventually leading Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup in Australia.
After retiring from cricket in 1992, he focused his energies on philanthropic work. In 1996, he established Pakistan’s first cancer hospital the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust Cancer Hospital in Lahore, in memory of his mother, also a cancer patient. The hospital is known for offering quality treatment for free to most patients.
Imran Khan entered into mainstream politics in 1996 and launched his own political party called Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). In 2002 elections, Mr. Khan was elected for the first time as a Member National Assembly. His party PTI emerged as a major political force in 2013, forming its own government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. In the July 25 elections, Mr. Khan’s political party emerged as the largest political party in the National Assembly and is set to form its government in the Federation, Punjab, Balochistan and KPK.
Imran Khan’s elevation to Prime Minister serves as an inspiration for all boys at the College. Principal Michael Thomson congratulated Imran Khan by letter on becoming Prime Minister. “It takes a remarkable person to achieve cricketing greatness, but to also rise as elected leader of one’s nation is a truly exceptional feat. We all wish him well,” he said.
