Asianbangla Desk : Pakistan’s World Cup cricket hero Imran Khan will be sworn in as prime minister next week, his party said yesterday, announcing it has the numbers to form a coalition government in the nuclear-armed nation. Afp, Islamabad
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said the entire squad that Khan captained to victory in the 1992 World Cup were invited to the ceremony, as well as Indian cricket greats Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu.
PTI emerged victorious in the July 25 elections, the country’s second-ever democratic transition of power, but fell short of an outright majority.
The party confirmed yesterday that it has secured the numbers for a majority in the lower house of parliament.
“In a historic moment, Imran Khan will take the oath (as prime minister) on August 18,” Faisal Javed Khan, a PTI senator and Khan’s close aide, said in televised comments in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain has called a session of the new National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, starting August 13.
Earlier, India’s high commissioner in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria called on Khan and congratulated him on his victory.
“Discussed the need to restart dialogue between Pak & India on all outstanding issues including Kashmir,” Khan’s spokeswoman Anila Khawaja told AFP after the meeting.
