'Imran Khan to take oath as Pakistan PM on August 18'

Senior Indian cricketers Kapil Dev, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sunil Gavaskar have been invited for the ceremony said a PTI leader.

Imran Khan will be sworn-in as Pakistan’s new Prime Minister on August 18, the cricketer-turned-politician’s party announced on Friday.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Central Additional Information Secretary Faisal Javed Khan said that Indian cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Navjot Singh Sidhu have been invited to prime minister-in-waiting Khan’s oath-taking ceremony.

The 1992 World Cup-winning cricket team has also been invited to witness their captain take oath, Javed told DawnNewsTV.

Earlier, Senator Faisal Javed had also tweeted that Khan would become Pakistan’s new premier on August 18.

“Imran Khan to take oath as prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the 18th Aug 2018 inshALLAH (if God wills)”, Javed tweeted.

The PTI’s announcement came after Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain summoned a session of the National Assembly on August 13 during which the newly-elected members will take oath.

However, no official notification confirming the swearing-in ceremony on August 18 has been issued as yet.

The PTI’s parliamentary committee on Monday had officially named party chairman Khan as their parliamentary leader and nominee for the next prime minister of Pakistan.

The PTI, which secured 116 general seats in the National Assembly in the July 25 general elections is the largest party in the parliament.

Geo News quoting sources said that Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain has decided to postpone his visit to Scotland in order to administer oath to the next prime minister.

Pak President Mamnoon was scheduled to visit Edinburgh from August 16 to August 19.

“The president will now embark on his trip after the oath-taking ceremony,” the report said.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan accepted the unconditional written apology from Khan for violating the secrecy of the ballot, removing the last possible hurdle in his swearing-in.
The 65-year-old leader had contested from five constituencies and won all of them.

On Thursday, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry said, “Imran Khan will be elected prime minister of the country ‘within the first round’ of vote in the parliament.”

He further claimed that his party has the support of 180 members in the National Assembly. The party which has 116 members needed the support of 172 lawmakers in the house of 342 to form the government.