Imran Khan takes oath as Pakistan PM, but not without a fumble

Imran Khan fumbled a few times as he was being sworn-in as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan on Saturday.

A spectacle-wearing Khan said “roz-e-qayadat” (the day of leadership), instead of “roz-e-qayamat” (the day of judgement), as he was administered the oath of office in Urdu by president Mamnoon Hussain, prompting a correction by the president. Khan smiled as he repeated the correct word.

The first part of the oath requires to swear being a Muslim, and believing unity and oneness of Allah, the books of Allah of which the Quran is the last, the prophethood of Muhammad as the last of the prophets, the day of judgement, and all the requirements and teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.

Khan, who also seemed to face difficulty in pronouncing some Urdu words in the oath, also arrived late at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (President’s House here) for the swearing-in which was scheduled for 10 am (Pakistan Standard Time), according to Pakistani media channels.

Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was seated in the front row along with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) vice president and former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervez Khattak, was flanked by president of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Masood Khan.

Sidhu, a Punjab minister who was the only of three Indian cricketers to attend the oath-taking ceremony (Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev had declined), was also seen meeting and embracing Pakistan army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Khan’s third wife, Bushra Maneka, clad in a head-to-heels burkha, was also sitting in the front row.