Cricket and politics: The media reported on the assassination of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan

A number of media outlets reported on the murder of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to sources, he died in mysterious circumstances at the Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi. Presumably, his body has already been removed from there. There is no official confirmation of this information yet, but it has already caused unrest in society. About the playboy, the legend of cricket and the failed fighter against corruption — in the material of Izvestia.

Death in prison

Reports of the death of 73-year-old Imran Khan followed riots outside the prison. The sisters of the former prime minister staged a peaceful protest there, demanding to be allowed to see their brother. However, they were attacked by security forces and, according to them, severely beaten.

After that, thousands of people gathered outside the prison as a sign of support: they called for the immediate release of Imran Khan. In response, the Pakistani authorities deployed additional forces to ensure the security of the penitentiary.

The reason for the protest, presumably, was the ban on meetings with Khan — no one could visit him for about a month.

Observers say that given Khan's popularity, riots could spread throughout Pakistan.

Cricket legend, playboy, politician

Imran Khan was born in 1952 in Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan. He has four sisters. He studied at prestigious schools in Pakistan and in the UK. He is a graduate of Oxford University. He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, and was called a legend of the sport. In 1992, he led the team to victory in the World Cup. As his sports career progressed, he gained a reputation as a playboy. In 1995, he married Jemima Goldsmith, the daughter of business magnate James Goldsmith. They divorced in 2004. Then he had two more marriages.

After retiring from cricket, Khan began openly criticizing the Pakistani authorities and founded the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, but for many years it languished in the "political wilderness."

Khan came to power in 2018. During the election campaign, he actively attracted young people — there were enough reasons for discontent in Pakistani society, including widespread corruption, lack of electricity, education crises and unemployment. He was supported by pop musicians and actors. People were fascinated by the charisma of the politician and his declared desire to achieve the prosperity of the country and its respect in the international arena. Khan himself said his goal was to transform Pakistan from a country with "a small group of rich and a sea of poor" into an "Islamic welfare state." Such an obviously populist slogan helped him win the election and find himself on the national political Olympus.

Removal from power and criminal cases

Khan relied on the fight against corruption, but his campaign was unsuccessful and was sharply criticized — it was seen as a tool to eliminate political opponents: many of them were imprisoned on charges of bribery. At the same time, the military retained power — they led dozens of civilian institutions.

Against the background of public discontent with high inflation and ineffective fight against corruption, Khan was removed from power in 2022 — parliament declared a vote of no confidence in him. He became the first prime minister to be ousted in this way. However, the media write that a conflict with an influential general led to his resignation, although Khan had previously been criticized for being "under the thumb" of the military.

At the same time, public opinion polls conducted in early 2023 showed that Khan is the most popular leader of the South Asian country.

Since his removal from power, Khan has been involved in hundreds of cases. One of them is about the disclosure of state secrets. He was accused of publishing a secret telegram sent to Islamabad by the country's ambassador in Washington. Khan stated that the cable was proof of a conspiracy by the American authorities who wanted to overthrow the government of Pakistan. The reason was allegedly Khan's visit to Moscow on the day of the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. At the same time, the former prime minister denied that it was he who "leaked" the contents of the secret message.

Another case is related to the sale of gifts (worth $500,000) received by him during his premiership and stored in the state treasury of Toshahan. It was about perfumes, diamond jewelry, tableware and expensive watches. He was arrested in this case in May 2023. However, this led to mass riots in a country gripped by an economic crisis. He was released, but then arrested again. In prison

Imran Khan has been in prison since August 2023. The last time he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

In November 2024, Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi— led a march through Islamabad demanding her husband's release. Riots engulfed the capital. Deaths, dozens of wounded, and thousands of arrests were reported. The mass demonstrations coincided with the visit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to Pakistan for talks with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Observers did not rule out that due to the increased attention to the visit and, consequently, to Islamabad as a whole, the time for protests was chosen. The unrest was suppressed, and Bushra Bibi was also convicted in several cases.