Imran Khan has made digital history in Pakistan. He is the first prime minister to tweet, while in office. And a lot.
Khan’s musings on social media have been about shielding the men he handpicked, promoting his administration, and reaching out to Pakistan’s neighbours, among other things.
Below are each of the 50 tweets sent from his personal accounts, categorized thematically (between August 19 and Nov. 24).
The prime minister’s first 100 days told through his favorite medium – Twitter:
• Business as Usual and Promises
On the evening of taking office, Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a tweet blitz, defended his decision to name Usman Buzdar, a till-then unknown politician, for the most sought-after office of chief minister Punjab.
(Date: August 18, 2018)
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Two days later, Khan was again warding off criticism to push forward the nomination of an old friend, Ehsan Mani, as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Mani was to replace Najam Sethi, who has long been censured by Khan and his political party. (Date: August 20, 2018)
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Arif Alvi, from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was elected the president of Pakistan. The prime minister took to twitter to congratulate Alvi, tweeting a picture from the early days of the political party.
(Date: September 6, 2018)
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Imran Khan has often been accused of backtracking from his earlier statements. Critics and opposition leaders insist that this policy of about-turns is carrying on even after Khan has been elevated to the PM office, earning him the nickname “U-turn Khan.” So on Nov 18, he tweeted in his own defence. Taking “a U-turn,” he wrote, “to reach one's objective is the hallmark of great leadership.” (Date: Nov 18, 2018)
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.Politics Abroad
Imran Khan used Twitter to project his foreign policy. In his tweet, he spoke in favour of former Indian cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who faced severe backlash in India for attending Khan’s oath-taking ceremony. He further made a case for peace talks between archrivals, India and Pakistan. (Date: August 21, 2018)
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In another message to those across the border, the prime minister offered humanitarian assistance to the victims of the deadly floods that swept through the Indian state of Kerala, killing 445 people.
(Date: August 23, 2018)
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On September 22, Khan, seemingly, yanked all peace offerings to India. After India cancelled a meeting between the Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the prime minister, in a hard-hitting tweet called New Delhi’s response “arrogant and negative.” (Date: September 22, 2018)
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Condemning the terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan, that killed, amongst others, the senior police chief, the governor of the province and a local intelligence official, Khan wrote that the “peace and security of Pakistan is inextricably linked to peace and security in Afghanistan.” (Date: October 18, 2018)
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Khan offered condolences to the families of the 59 people mowed down by a train in Amritsar, India. (Date: October 20, 2018)
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In another tweet directed at India, the premier criticised the neighboring country for its heavy handedness in Kashmir and called for a dialogue to resolve the dispute. (Date: October 22, 2018)
.Khan sends out a series of tweets listing down what the war on terror had cost Pakistan, both economically and in terms of human lives. He did so in response to US President Donald Trump’s statement that Pakistan had not “done a damn thing” for the US, which is why it was withholding millions of dollars in military aid to the country.
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Khan sends out a series of tweets listing down what the war on terror had cost Pakistan, both economically and in terms of human lives. He did so in response to US President Donald Trump’s statement that Pakistan had not “done a damn thing” for the US, which is why it was withholding millions of dollars in military aid to the country.
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After returning from Malaysia, the prime minister thanked his counterpart for the “warm hospitality” and promised to further strengthen ties between the two countries. (Date: November 22)
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The prime minister promoted his one-day tree planation drive launched across the country. Under it, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf government hopes to plant 10 billion trees in five years. (Date: September 2, 2018)
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Khan announced the opening of the doors of the sprawling Governor House in Lahore to the public. The colonial-era residence was often derided by Khan and his party for its inaccessibility.
(Date: September 17, 2018)
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The prime minister revealed that he managed to raised Rs 76 crores (Rs 760 million) during a fundraising event in Karachi for the Diamer and Mohmand dams. (Date: September 18, 2018)
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In his inaugural address, Imran Khan had vowed to build five million affordable housing for the poor and to provide 10 million jobs to the unemployed. In a promotional tweet, he announced the formal launch of registration for the housing project. (Date: October 11, 2018)
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Khan kick started Pakistan’s largest cleanliness drive. In the next five years, his administration would “clean the air, the rivers, the land and make Pakistan green through a plantation drive,” he wrote in a series of tweets. Environment has been a mainstay of the PTI’s election manifesto.
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Tweeting about his 100,000-strong rally in Lahore in 2011, which pulled the PTI out of obscurity, Khan remembered the role youngsters played in the early beginnings of his party. He also pointed out that it was after the rally that the country moved away from “an entrenched two-party system”. (Date: October 31, 2018)
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Khan laid the foundation for the first shelter homes in Lahore. In his tweet, he tagged an image that recently went viral on social media of a father sleeping on a roadside with his two children. (Date: Nov 10, 2018)
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Prime Minister Khan tweets that he has directed the chief minister of Punjab to set up tents for the homeless in the province. (Date: November 24)
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He tweeted about daily business: meetings with the newly-appointed chief minister of Punjab and his cabinet. He also reiterated his promise to reforms the police service in the province and meet the targets set in his 100-day agenda. (Date: September 2, 2018)
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Imran Khan tweeted images of children from the undeveloped, and ignored tribal belt of Pakistan, which had only recently been merged with the adjoining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The prime minister said he is “committed to mainstreaming” the area. (Date: September 4, 2018)
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On the campaign trail, Khan promised to correct Pakistan’s economic troubles by launching an austerity drive. Once premier, Khan shared figures of the state-owned land in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal areas that had been unused, referring to it as “dead capital.” (Date: September 10, 2018)
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The same day, he also put his name behind the nationwide campaign to raise money to build the Diamer and Mohmand dams, adding that he will personally supervise its construction.
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Khan condoled the death of Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of former prime minister and leader of the rival Pakistan Muslim League-N.
(Date: September 11, 2018)
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Unlike previous administrations, Khan has pinned high hopes on the Pakistani diaspora. He has made several impassioned appeals to the overseas Pakistani, who send billions of dollars in foreign remittances, to help the country out of its economic crisis. In a tweet, he announced that he held a special meeting to deliberate on ways that can encourage “them to send remittances through banking channels by removing all hindrances”. (Date: October 12, 2018)
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In the last two years, under the former government of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan had come close to eradicating the polio virus. Khan, who took office in August, promised to continue efforts to tackle the disease. (Date: October 24, 2018)
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Khan wished the Hindu community on Diwali. Hindus make up 1.6 per cent of the over 207 million population of Pakistan. (Date: Nov 7, 2018)
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On Iqbal Day, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted his first video message in a 100 days, to share an uplifting message. “Nothing is impossible for this country to achieve,” he said looking into the camera.
(Date: Nov 9, 2018)
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After an abducted senior police official from Islamabad was found dead in Afghanistan, Khan spoke about the incident for the first time through Twitter. Condoling with the police force, he ordered an “urgent inquiry” into the murder of SP Tahir Dawar. (Date: Nov 15, 2018)
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Khan offered prayer and condolences after the passing away of Tableeghi Jamaat chief, Haji Abdul Wahab. (Date: Nov 18, 2018)
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After two separate attacks in Pakistan, claimed 39 lives, including that of two police officers, Khan condemned both terror assaults and called them a “planned campaign to create unrest in the country.” Further commenting on the brazen attack near the Chinese consulate, he linked it to his recent trip to China. “The attack was intended to scare Chinese investors and undermine CPEC. These terrorists will not succeed,” he wrote. (Date: November 23)
