Imran Khan and Pakistan: what's going to change?
The Briefing Room
BBC
4.8 • 731 Ratings
🗓️ 26 July 2018
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Imran Khan has claimed victory in Pakistan's election - but what will he be able to change?
Khan is better known internationally for his exploits on the cricket field than in the political arena.
On the surface his ascent to power represents significant change. Politics in Pakistan has been dominated for decades by two families: one, of Nawaz Sharif, the last man to be elected prime minister, the other, of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter, Benazir. Khan has ties to neither dynasty so appears to break the mould.
But there is another constant in Pakistani politics: the army. Most observers agree that Khan owes his success to military support, and many believe he will be able to govern only with military approval.
David Aaronovitch assesses the significance of his remarkable result.
CONTRIBUTORS
Ayesha Jalal, professor of history at Tufts University, Massachusetts
Shahzeb Jillani, senior executive editor, Dunya TV
Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan ambassador to the United States
Prof Katharine Adeney, director of the Asia Research Institute at the University of Nottingham
Producer: Tim Mansel.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the briefing room with me, David O'Ronovich. |
| 0:03.0 | The idea is that you and I get briefed together on the important questions of the day |
| 0:07.1 | by people who know what they're talking about. |
| 0:10.1 | And if it works for you or even if it doesn't, |
| 0:12.5 | please let us know what you think by writing a review or rating us on iTunes or your podcast provider. |
| 0:18.0 | Thanks this week to AWL 1990 for doing just that. And this week we're asking |
| 0:23.8 | what difference the election of Imran Khan to the leadership of Pakistan will make to his country |
| 0:29.3 | and to the world. And if you enjoy this podcast, you might want to listen back to other editions of |
| 0:34.5 | the briefing room. For example, the one we did earlier this year about China's ambitious infrastructure project, |
| 0:40.5 | Belton Road, which has huge implications for Pakistan. |
| 0:53.0 | I today want all of Pakistan to unite. |
| 0:59.0 | I want to make clear that any of our opponents, people who voted against us, I think the |
| 1:05.0 | kind of personal attacks that I've faced, no one has ever faced them before. |
| 1:10.0 | I have forgotten all of this and put all of this behind me. |
| 1:14.6 | This is not about me, this is about my country. |
| 1:18.7 | Remember Imran Khan, the international cricketer turned playboy? |
| 1:23.5 | It looks like he's won this week's election and is just about to turn leader of Pakistan. |
| 1:29.3 | And Pakistan matters. |
| 1:31.2 | 200 million people live there. |
| 1:33.4 | The country is historically linked with Britain. |
| 1:36.2 | Many British citizens have current ties to Pakistan. |
| 1:39.2 | It has nuclear weapons and is geographically and strategically a hugely important place. So this week, |
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