A change of heart?: Imran Khan wants a “simple” oath taking ceremony

According to a media report Imran Khan has decided against inviting foreign leaders and celebrities to his oath taking ceremony as the  prime minister of Pakistan, as he wants to keep the event very simple.

Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) rose as the single largest party in the elections held on the 25th of July. The 65-year-old leader is expected to be taking the oath on August 11.

His party had initially planned to invite foreign leaders and personalities, including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Navjot Singh Sidhu to the event.

However, in an apparent change of heart on Thursday, Mr. Khan opted against a fancy ceremony, Dawn newspaper reported.

“The PTI chairman has directed to stage the oath taking event with austerity. He will take his oath in a simple ceremony at Aiwan-e-Sadr [President House], It has been decided that no foreign personalities will be invited to the ceremony — it will be a completely national event. Only a few close friends of Imran Khan will be invited. There will be no show of extravagance at the event,” Mr. Chaudhry said.

President Mamnoon Hussain will administer Imran Khan to the oath of the office. After his party’s victory in the elections, Mr. Khan has pledged to take austerity measures to save taxpayers money. He had announced that he would not move into the Prime Minister’s House and a final decision on the fate of the building would be decided by the party.