PM on the way: Five times when Kaptaan went controversial
The five picks where he has turned into a controversial figure.
(AFP) - For Pakistani cricket legend-turned-politician Imran Khan, his party’s first place in a national election, putting him on the brink of becoming the country’s next prime minister, is the culmination of a battle that started more than two decades ago. Pakistan election winner Imran Khan has not shied away from firebrand rhetoric during his 22 years in politics.
Here are the picks for few of his most controversial positions:
Imran Khan spoke to the nation after a hall mark victory in elections 2018. Photo: Dunya News
On feminism
Pakistan’s former cricket captain is viewed as something of a liberal in the West, particularly in Britain where the press remember his high-flying lifestyle and marriage to Jemima Goldsmith.
But Khan sparked outrage in January when he lambasted feminism as "a Western concept", saying in an interview that it had "degraded the role of mother".
Critics accused him of pandering to his conservative vote base.
Also Read: Celebrities wish Kaptaan to fulfil the dream of Naya Pakistan
On Religion
Khan was accused of mainstreaming extremism by launching a full-throttled defence of Pakistan’s controversial laws, which carry a maximum penalty of death.
Just weeks before the election Khan told clerics in televised comments that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party "fully" supports few of the controversial laws "and will defend it".
He has issued a statement that raised alarm among the particular sect, who are persecuted for their belief .
Taliban Khan
The ex-cricketer has earned the moniker "Taliban Khan" for repeatedly arguing for peace talks with militants and for his party’s alliance with Sami ul Haq, the so-called Father of the Taliban whose madrassas once educated Taliban stalwarts Mullah Omar and Jalaluddin Haqqani.
In 2013, Khan even suggested that the Pakistani Taliban should be allowed to open an office in the country.
The previous year he had come in for criticism for his perceived lukewarm condemnation of the shooting of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl turned women’s rights activist and Nobel Prize winner.
Also Read: Kaptaan Khan s slog from sports icon to Pakistan s likely new leader
American drone strikes
Khan, 65, has railed repeatedly against United States drone strikes on Pakistani territory, angering the South Asian country’s biggest benefactor.
He has claimed that the strikes have killed innocent civilians, something American government denies.
In 2012, he was briefly removed from an international flight from Canada to New York and questioned by US immigration officials on his views about the strikes.
Corruption
Khan was elected largely on an anti-graft ticket -- he has described corruption as a "security risk" to Pakistan.
But he drew flak for welcoming politicians from parties he has accused of being corrupt into PTI ahead of the election.
In April Khan announced that he would refer 20 PTI lawmakers to an anti-corruption body after they were accused of selling votes during senate elections
Also Read: Pakistan elections 2018: Imran Khan wins vote but no majority
