Imran Khan to be sworn in as PM Aug 18

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Bisaria (centre left) presents a cricket bat to Khan during a meeting in Islamabad. — AFP photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s World Cup cricket hero Imran Khan will be sworn in as prime minister next week, his party said Friday, announcing it has the numbers to form a coalition government in the nuclear-armed nation.

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 Friday 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 Aug 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. — AFP