The path of Imran Khan

Imran Khan was more than just Pakistan's cricket captain. He was a warrior, an ambassador and a playboy of the Western world. But after retirement and divorce from one of Britain's most glamorous heiresses, he is dedicating his life to saving his country from political corruption. Tim Adams travelled to his secluded villa to talk to him about his mission

Sunday July 2, 2006
The Observer


It is not easy to get to Imran Khan. I meet his political agent at the 1970s government buildings in Islamabad where he has an airless basement office. We hail a cab and point it in the direction of the hills outside the city, the lowest foothills of the distant Himalayas. The tarmac soon ends and the gradient gets much steeper. There is a bridge over a dried-up gorge, where the river has been dammed further upstream. Young men and boys are laying water pipes beside the rough dirt road in the hundred-degree late afternoon heat. The road gets more precipitous still and our driver gets out to pour a bottle of mineral water over his engine. Eventually at the ridge of a hill with a view across the city with its minarets and half-finished housing projects we reach a set of unlikely electronic gates.


Imran bought these 35 acres four years ago and has built his house in the middle of them. The original plan was to move in here with his family - wife Jemima and their two boys - but as it has turned out he lives up here alone. He waves me through a cool courtyard and into a simply furnished sitting room, with big wooden doors open to the hills. He then sits on a sofa, wearing his sunglasses, and sends texts on three mobile phones, struggling for a signal. He does not speak for five or 10 minutes.
When he eventually looks up, still wearing his shades, and motions me with his hand to begin, I ask him why he chose to be out here in the wild.

He says he always wanted to live on a farm because he grew up right on the edge of town in Lahore. There were only about eight houses, all family, and there was a big open space in the middle where the boys learned to play cricket (two of Imran's cousins, Javed Burki and Majid Khan, also captained Pakistan). 'We all had our cows and our buffaloes,' he recalls, 'we grew our own vegetables. You could swim in the canal it was so clean.'

This golden time was eclipsed by the population explosion in Lahore. It grew so rapidly that suddenly the family were in the middle of town. Imran could not bear the pollution and the noise. He never liked city life. He loved mountains. From where he is now it is only an hour or so to the Himalaya proper and you can quickly be at seven or eight thousand feet. His parents or his uncle used to take him up in the hills each summer as a boy and now he takes his own sons when they come over from London for the school holidays, hiking and shooting partridge.

'This place was just a jungle area when I found it,' he says. 'It was very cheap.' Since he moved in, because he moved in, the land has gone up '20 times'. 'I sold my London flat to buy this whole place and build this house.' He loves the fact of his isolation. 'I have fruit trees. Cows for fresh milk, yoghurt. My own wheat. I'm basically self-sufficient. I have made my boys a little cricket ground.'

The house seems to suit Imran's idea of himself. He has always set himself apart. These days, it also seems to symbolise his place in Pakistani politics, which have engaged him now for a decade. He set up his Justice Party in 1996 on an anticorruption platform with some hope of real power. Ten years on, he remains the party's sole member of parliament, often a lone critical voice against the military regime of General Musharraf.

Imran keeps no memories of his cricketing days in the house. He has auctioned every last ball and glove off for the cancer hospital he established in Lahore in memory of his mother. His boys, Sulaiman and Qasim, now 10 and seven, who got into cricket during the Ashes last summer, are sad, he admits, that their dad does not have more to show them from the days when he terrorised the world's best batsmen and bowlers; when he took 300 wickets in his first 60 Test matches; when, in 1987, he became the first Pakistan captain to win a Test series in England. I wonder if his boys support England or Pakistan, Freddie or Shoaib?

'Pakistan for cricket, England for football,' he says. He has not given any thought to whether he would like them to follow in his footsteps and play for Pakistan (or England) one day, though their mother Jemima, the daughter of buccaneering billionaire Sir James Goldsmith whom he married in 1995 and separated from nine years later, is often phoning when they are here, wondering if he thinks they are any good. And are they?

'I always tell her it is simply too early to know,' he says.

Cricket is his past; the present and the future are all about politics. Over the past 10 years, he says, he has been invited to be Prime Minister under Musharraf and to be Deputy Prime Minister by Nawaz Sharif, the civilian PM overthrown by the general. He refused on both occasions because he did not want to be tainted by corruption. Instead he has established a power base of sorts in a constituency three hours west of Islamabad, bordering the wild North West Frontier, where his tribal Pathan roots originate. Not long after his cricket career ended Imran visited those tribal homelands for the first time to write a book about the warrior race of which he is a distant cousin. The book is punctuated with pictures of him engaging in shooting competitions with the tribal elders, dressed in full headgear.

'As I got to know the Pathans' character,' he says, 'I recognised in it the competitiveness I was born with and the determination not to show fear.'

This lack of fear is a crucial quality, he suggests, in Pakistani politics as well as Pakistani cricket. When he stood at the last election in 2003, he says, 'the government stuffed the ballots. One guy who was against me was the biggest drug mafia guy in the area. They let him out of jail to run in the election because they thought he controlled the area. But still I got record votes. In most of Pakistan it is a feudal country. People are very scared and oppressed by authority. But when you move to these wilder areas, they are not so easily suppressed.'

Did he think, despite the fears people have, he would have more seats in parliament by now?

'Well,' he says, crisply, 'It is not easy to win against a military dictator in an election that is being run by the security services.'

The next election is scheduled for 2007. How does he aim to change things?

'My contention now is that there is no way anyone should fight an election while Musharraf is in charge,' he says. 'Therefore I will be out on the streets beginning in September against him. It is the only way. I am preparing my party for a street movement. What we are hoping is that the other parties will come out too.'

How many people does he imagine will join him in this popular unrest? Hundreds, thousands, millions?

'Well,' he says, in his rolling bass voice, 'if no one else comes, at least we will be protesting. A few thousand people in every city at least.'

Is there anyone he would not march with, the far-right fundamentalists (with whom he has recently voted on particular issues), perhaps? 'The pseudo-liberals here will tell the West: save us or the mullahs are coming; that is not the problem. You will have no problem with extremists in Pakistan if you have democracy.'

Taking his politics to the streets will obviously increase his personal risk. Imran has always refused to have bodyguards, seeing them as a sign of weakness. Three - ornamental - shotguns hang over his fireplace.

'I have no fear of death,' he says. 'When I came into politics I always thought there was a possibility I would be killed.' If anything his lack of fear has grown along with his faith in Islam. 'Spirituality does two things for you. One, you are forced to become more selfless, two, you trust to providence. The opposite of a spiritual man is a materialist. If I was a materialist I would be making lots of money doing endorsements, doing cricket commentary. I have no interest in that.'

All this sounds a very long way from the Imran Khan of the Seventies and Eighties who spent his evenings in Annabel's and Tramp nightclubs in London's West End and his days in Nigel Dempster's gossip columns for bedding a series of debutantes - including the late Sita White (daughter of Lord White), Susannah Constantine (Viscount Linley's ex), Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant. He had come to England from Aitchison College, a relic of the Raj, to study at Oxford, where he was captain of cricket, before playing for Worcestershire and Sussex. In those days he was very much the playboy prince. I wonder what he makes of that former self.

'I have never claimed to be an angel,' he says, still behind his shades. 'I am a humble sinner. In my cricket career I would keep a log and write down the areas I had failed in so I could make them strengths. I have tried to do that in life, too.'

But, I say, he always seemed to be having such a splendid time.

He very nearly smiles. 'I was a bachelor,' he says. 'I decided I would never marry while I was playing cricket. I watched other cricketers and saw the wives going through a torrid time, and the children, which was even worse. When I had my children I was completely hands on. My marriage was tough, but I still think the highs I got in marriage were much greater than those I got as a bachelor.'

Would he like to marry again?

'One day, but not now.'

He had a reputation, as captain of Sussex, for never being one of the boys. Why was that?

'The thing was, I hated pubs,' he says. 'I could not tell you how much I detested them. I had been playing cricket for six hours body and soul and the last thing I wanted to do was stand in an English pub and talk about it. I hated the smell of a pub. I hated the look of it. And of course I never drank alcohol. So maybe that was part of it.'

The other reason, he says, was an extreme kind of shyness. It is hard to imagine the great allrounder as a retiring type, but he insists he was.

'My oldest son is very shy now and he reminds me of myself. I would deliberately miss public occasions if there might be a speech. When I became Pakistan captain in 1982 I could not even address the team. I would tell my manager, "Look, this is what I want to convey, can you tell them for me?"'

He began to escape this predicament, he says, in his mid-thirties, when he found something like personal enlightenment. 'I underwent a bit of a quest, as we all do. I asked myself, " What am I doing on this earth?" I was very fortunate in that when I was asking this question I came across very deep spiritual people. That happens in Pakistan. It does not happen so often in the West.'

Along with his growing faith, Imran rethought a lot of his views on social issues, such as the place of women in society. He tries to tread a line in his political life between an appeal to the faithful and an attempt not to undermine his charismatic credibility in the West. He puts his argument for a woman's place being in the home in cultural terms.

'I always think that one of the biggest mistakes made by the feminist movement is that they have devalued motherhood,' he says. 'My father was in business and away a lot when I was a child; my mother was all-powerful. The unconditional love, the security it gives you in life is irreplaceable. In England I saw that the side-effect of this feminism was that children lost out on this incredible education and security, which no one else can provide.'

It was watching his mother die an awful death of cancer, unable to get treatment or even pain relief in Pakistan, that drove him to his proudest achievement, a $25m cancer hospital named in her honour in Lahore. He raised the money through campaigns and donations.

He started with Pakistan's richest men , many of whom had gone to his school, but quickly realised that generosity had nothing to do with wealth. So he went to the public: he enlisted the help of a small army of children - even though to start with he was terrified to stand up in front of a school assembly. 'In the end,' he says , 'I needed $4m in six weeks. I got an open jeep, put a big sack for money on the back and toured from north to south asking for help. I started at seven in the morning and carried on till midnight. In those six weeks I changed. I realised the generosity of tea boys, taxi drivers, the poorest people bringing 10 rupee notes - and also their faith. I was saying, "Don't worry: save your money". And they said, "We are not doing it for you, we are doing it for our God".'

The hospital, with 75 per cent free care, remains a beacon in Pakistan. It came, you guess, at a great cost to him, though. It was at the time that the hospital opened that he married 22-year-old Jemima Goldsmith and brought her to Lahore to live in an apartment that, Vanity Fair pointed out, shocked, had dodgy electrics and no washing machine. Having given all of his time and most of his money to the hospital he was virtually drained. Inevitably, particularly given his views on the role of a wife, the marriage suffered almost from the start. Does he look back on it now as an impossible match?

'Well it was far more brave of her than it was of me,' he says, finally removing his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes a little wearily. 'But that is what endeared her to me. I always thought I would marry a Pakistani girl just because it would be so difficult for a girl to come here. To try to balance everything was certainly the hardest thing I ever did. The hospital opened, I was involved in politics and then kids came. I had known pressure on the cricket field, but that sort of pressure was very new to me. And though she tried for a long time, it was very difficult for Jemima to live that life.'

Was the divorce a mutual decision?

'For one-and-a-half years she was in England and I was here. She felt she could not live here, there was increasing difficulty, and I could not be anywhere but here. I am rooted to a cause. I hated the divorce and the last thing I wanted was for my children to grow up without me. I would like the boys to be Pakistani as much as they are English. And they are Muslims; I take them to Friday prayers as often as I can.'

How does he feel about Hugh Grant's role in their life, I wonder ? Are they on good terms? 'Well I hardly go to England at all,' he says, by way of an answer. 'But the boys are fine.' He puts his shades back on. 'There is never really a positive side to these things but, if there is, at least being alone allows me to be more fearless.'

Where does he place his hope?

'A lot of people here in the press call me naive,' he says. 'Musharraf told them I was his prime ministerial candidate in 2002 but had turned him down, I was too full of myself. He said I was a terrorist without a beard. But I would have failed if I had joined them. Look at the way they live: big palaces, Lear jets. People here have no drinking water; 70 per cent of the schools are closed in my constituency. But I'm more hopeful than ever. One of the reasons I was a successful cricketer was I felt nothing was impossible. I never signed more than a one-year contract, because I always thought I would be better the next year. I feel that now, too.'

I ask him if there was one match out of his long career that, on quiet nights up here, he replays in his head. He says that he thinks of nostalgia as a disease, but if pressed he suggests not the World Cup win of 1992 when Pakistan beat England - he does not view one-day cricket as proper cricket - but the winning tour of the West Indies in 1988.

'It was the first time anyone had won a series there in 15 years. I had retired and General Zia, the president, personally asked me to come back. I was 35 and not very fit, we had quite a weak team and then I got 11 wickets in the first Test. That was the last time I really bowled well.'

I wonder whether he recalled any particular moments against England? The Test matches then often seemed to be full of bad feeling. 'No, in my time you really tested yourself against the West Indians,' he says. 'Viv Richards was the greatest player around. Like him, I lost interest against lesser teams. Once New Zealand toured here and Richard Hadlee did not come , so I refused to play. I could not motivate myself against lesser players.'

He had a long-standing and bitter rivalry with Ian Botham, triggered apparently by Botham once remarking that he would not even send his mother-in- law to Pakistan for the winter. It culminated in 1996 when Botham and Allan Lamb sued Imran unsuccessfully for libel after he accused them in a newspaper column of racism and ball-tampering. Does he still feel animosity towards Botham?

He is, like any decent politician, non-committal, while making his feelings clear. 'I was a rival with Botham because he was a competing all-rounder. But he was someone who I don't think ever did justice to his talent. When he started he could have done anything, but he declined very quickly. In a way our careers were the opposite of each other. I started quite slowly but got better, maximised my talent. He went the other way, I think.'

Like any great all-rounder, Imran still likes the idea of a single man carrying a team. 'I don't watch too much cricket but I like to look at Flintoff,' he says. 'He's the reason for England's revival. He can win a match as batsman or bowler; that's still rare.'

What about Pakistan, can he see them winning in England as his team did 19 years ago?

'We have some players,' he says, 'But we have no structure here. It is the same story. Musharraf appoints the head of the cricket board. So he becomes a mini-Musharraf. There is no accountability and therefore nothing improves.'

I wonder if the buzz he gets from politics replaces the one he used to get from taking a big wicket.

'It's not that type of adrenaline,' he says. 'But it is so unpredictable here that there is always some excitement.'

He had graphic evidence of this recently when, during the visit of George Bush to Pakistan in March, he was placed under house arrest having threatened to organise a protest against the President's implicit support for dictatorship in Pakistan. He was picked up in a restaurant in Islamabad and brought up here, locked in his home.

I suggest to him that it is a little like Brer Rabbit being thrown in the briar patch, not the worst form of punishment he could imagine. He laughs for the first time. 'It's true,' he says. 'I love the silence here. People say, "Don't you get scared in this house with nothing all around?" But I pray to be here.'

And then he gets up and sees me out, and I leave him, alone on his hill.

Good interview .

Miggy stop lying, u didn't even read it all.

I'll have a read later

Read the whole thing earlier on ... its on the net.

But I do wonder if Imran is heading for a life of seclusion and "aloofness"

Just his cause, his kids and thats it.

I suppose safehands can tell us the REAL personal side of Imran.

Great interview.

Really enjoyed reading that.

I actually did read it all and it was a very good read.

I have always been fascinated by the sheer strength this man exudes. Reading the following lines, it's obvious why:

'As I got to know the Pathans' character,' he says, 'I recognised in it the competitiveness I was born with and the determination not to show fear.'

This lack of fear is a crucial quality, he suggests, in Pakistani politics as well as Pakistani cricket.

Well he has to be aloof he is in the opposition. But really that just how imran has always been. He has always been keep to himself type of person. People make it such big deal but the house he has there is extremely huge. It simply beautiful any patans dream. Wilderness and hunting and so on. The rugged life as one might put it.

As for just his cause, he is simply a visionary like iqbal or kardar. Iqbal if you recall died a poor man. He never really had job. Think of imran like that he sits and pontificates about flaws in society and life. He essentially has phd in western and eastern philosphy. He read basically all of aristotles works. Then the sufi principles. The kids thing obviously its a big part of his life. As philospher one has to experience both sides of the spectrum.

But let me say this when he had the divorce he was extremely depressed accorrding to my dad. He went upto nathia gali and holed himself up with a couple close friends. Let me say it wasnt his greatest day. The whole was the juice worth the squeeze thing comes about where. Politics or jemima and so on. For him bettering pakistan prevailed.

very nice read... gr8 man.

The "real" personal side of Imran Khan is quite manifest when you watch him talk about Pak's future, his concerns and priorities. He minces no words and comes across as a fervent, most passionate of well-wishers of his nation.

I always thought of Imran as a aloof non-social person, most great leaders of men are that way. He was a great captain and all-rounder. But I think he made a big mistake by joining politics. He is not a politician never was never will be and pigs will fly before Imran is able to change anything in Pakistan.

Invictus

He has already made a mark on the politics of Pakistan - accountability awareness (amongst the masses) and drive (however inadequate via NAB) has been brought to the fore through his efforts.

The crux is he joined politics not for his personal sake unlike so many others in Pak, but for the betterment of the nation's fortunes. Had his involvement been purely selfish one, he would have never turned down offers to join Federal Cabinets of three different Governments ever since he retired from cricket.

Im not sure how someone can claim they have Pakitsan's best interest at heart and then go on to join Pak politics. I am actually a huge Imran fan but the fact that he is in politics and then making these philosophical statements means there is a disconnect somewhere.

Democracy is not as simple as people like to pretend, and George Bush isnt helping much. Democracy is not just about voting and people power. Its about personal responsibility and accountability. What Pakistan needs most of all is individuals working for a better society, not fervor or passion. We need a responsible media, not one that has agenda written all over it. We need our heroes such as Imran to go out there and spread a message of presonal responsibility, not one of pointing fingers and calling people dictators and whinging about fixed elections.

Again, for fear of being misinterpreted, I am a huge Imran fan and I dont like Musharraf much at all. However, Imran is not acting as a responsible member of society. He can use his position to promote positive thought and introspection. Instead he chooses to point fingers and repeatedly hammer upon obvious flaws in hopes of getting an extra vote or two. Its certainly sad to see.

on the cricketing side i think he has a personal vandetta against bob maybe his after his job as his political career is going no where.

It is hard to ever tell a man's real intentions, Imran included... interesting read but I have no opinion as I simply don't know what is true and what isn't.

How come? Are all politicians in Pak meant to be malevolent? Does not entering politics give Imran a better chance to improve on the fortunes of our people? His talk of accountability and literacy bears heavy substance.

Imran Khan is a complete bandwagon jumper when it comes to politics. His flirtation with the MMA during their marches to have a religion column inserted in the Pakistan passport was an absolute disgrace.

I wish he had stuck to his cancer hospital and formed a few NGOs helping educate the poor. His politics has ruined him in front of many peoples eyes and I do hope he loses his seat at the next election and his party goes bust.

Also the Charter Of Democracy which is in limelight for about a month now is Tehreek-e-Insaaf's Basic Agenda. Also Imran was the first political leader who said he'll boycott 07 elections if held under musharraf. Today i hear Jamaat-e-Islami's activists have handed over their Resignations from assembly to their leaders. MMA will soon be doing this also. and today only there was ARD meeting in London where ppp and pml-n leaders has asked government to step down untill 31st july and they are also asking for free and fair election commision and are also not ready for 07 elections under musharraf or they'll step down aswell. Another achievement of the man in politics.

you missed my point. I never called Imran malevolent. What I said was, his priorities are misplaced.

We must realize that politicians dont fix people, people fix politicians. What we need is to improve as a society. Imran is a control freak, always has been always will be. He is also hot headed. Even those who love him know this. what he wants is to take control and fix the infrastructure. That is the wrong approach. I wish people like him would show more understanding of our societies ills and concentrate their efforts to that end.

Great read, i liked the above bit

He has to join a group when half of ppp and so on switches parties he cant switch alliances. His party is still relatively small. IT will take time its like saying you will become a ceo of microsoft straight out of college.

According to the philosphies imran reads. Aristotle once said that politics is the only way to make change. You can improve the society through hospitals and so on. But to bring equilibrium you need to go into politics. If a man of his stature hadnt went into politics it would have been a big travesty. Look at michael jordan now, everyone wonders where he is. People wanted him to be a spokesperson for blacks invariably that was a disappointment.
Let me say as politician though he is young and has many weaknesses. The only thing he has is ability to speak the truth. The only reason people dont believe him is that he is optimist rather than pessimist. people are just afraid to dream as much as him. because life has been good for him on several fronts but for many others it has been different.

People romanticise Imran. He won only 1 seat last election. Name one "leader" besides Imran in his party who has any political base. Its Pakistan's politics. You cannot change the system from with-in with mere words. You need a political base which he does not have and I dont see him building one either. He gets fixated on point-less issues which does not get him anywhere. He jumps on the bandwagon for small issues instead of building his party.
I dont see him going anywhere or improving anything. If he wanted to change something there were alot better ways of doing it. He choose the wrong path. Imran has always been a one man show and that does not get you anywhere in politics.

OK I think we are now moving from Imran the cricketer to Imran the politician type discussion - so will move to TimePass.

Imran Khan, His words and way of talking is what other cricketing legends do not posess... BTW, Imran's b'day is the same day as mine.. random fact o.o

Great interview, enjoyed it very much.

I think we really need politicians who dont have a political base. that is probably our country,s only chance of getting some honest no of ppl, in assembalies.

Yes he gets romaticized at times. But he is a great man of ambition and character and his most appealing quality as a politician, is honesty. As a leader, his character has always been clean on these grounds. He has that go for throat nature, that is probably needed in pakistan,s political set up.

What small issues are we talking about here???...he always comes up with solid issues....like independent judiciary and beaurocracry, education and health. These r quite solid, I guess. It is lack of resources that was behind his election results, not that he has no vote bank. If you have ever voted in pakistan, you would definately have ideas, how political parties, mobilize their voters on election day & that involves, transport, no of political camps and khaba to some extent too....

He will mature as a politician, I am sure....

mate ur spot on! good read.

By political base I did not mean political clout but a base of supporters. His party won only 1 seat in the last election. There are no other leaders in his party besides himself. The petty issues of joining the bandwagon to add the religion column in the passport.
Just talkin about having a independant judicinary is fine but how excatly do you go about doing that? You need to have a plan a blue print and the support of the people behind you. You need to establish your party in the masses. His party has no infrastructure, no history, no direction or anything of that nature. Again I have alot of respect for Imran the cricketer but Imran the politician is a waste of energy.

I don't think Imran Khan is successful as politician
I think his party still have only ONE seat in NA, and that's himself. and how long he have been in politics ?
He don't have value in politics. He allies himself with likes of MMA.
I would like to know what he have done in his area from where he was elected ? One thing I know he made hospital in Mianwali(or made in any other city?)

just visited his website.
a man who can't maintain his website with updates and keep it clean, how he ll handle crises of our country

He has made a college, which is going to be accredited with bradford university. Set to open soon. He has in the works another university. Amongst that he has opened several schools.He has also mobilised several ngos. If you have ever been to mianwali it one of the most underdeveloped places ever.

Aside the hospitals, he brought water and roads, you talk about development he has modernized. In a couple years his universities will be the only accredited universities in pakistan.

Aside he got the japenese government to donate something like 5 million rupees as yearly grant to build roads.

He has also made police accountability a fact in that place. He always files complaints against them.

Imran doesnt make the website, anyhow. have you seen any other pakistani political website. Try goinsaf.org. Try his skmt website. try his imrankhanfoundation website.

Anyhow imran doesnt no anything about computers.

thats good to know he is doing something in his area. But on same side, these kind developments been made in other parts of country as well. School/colleges and emergency services etc. etc.
college you are talking about, fees of that college ll b affordable by poor/common ppl ? I highly doubt that.
If he doen't get help from Govt. then from where all mony came from for these projects ? Govt. have givan lots and lots of money to last term Nazims as well. Some nazims have used it properly and some have put in their pockets. some of development also made by Nazims and not only Imran Khan

asim , choose ur battles wisely, every man has fallacies, granted. every one dreams of rectification, granted. but this benefit is not accrued to mortals.

stop judging people from hindsight, especially since mortals are slaves to spontaneousness. this guy has already done enough , give him credit and let that be the end of it.

Its not that he hasnt asked he just never receives any help. Let me categorically say he advocates government help in some these things. but it just doesnt happen. Also he has basically single handedly handled the land mafias and corrupt police. He has been godsend for mianwali.

Imran Khan has formed the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT) under which the construction of a state of the art Technical College is underway, near the Namal Dam in Mianwali, which would culminate into the first University of Minawali and adjoining districts.

Work is about to begin in four union councils on Citizen's Foundation Schools, which will provide quality education to the children of the area, with a target to build these schools in every union council of the district. A water reservoir with a storage capacity of 15 million gallons has already been built at Tabisar in District Mianwali, with plans to develop further water schemes to alleviate the shortage of water in the area.

The MDT has also brought to Mianwali the world renowned NGO NRSP, founded by Mr. Shoaib Sultan, which will help in developing the infrastructure, giving vocational training and small loans to the youth, installing water supply schemes and improving health facilities in over 20 union councils in the are
Then he has ngos which have joined to make the mdt mianwalit development trust. Which basically allows

Statisically speaking the provence surveys have shown the youth vote has increased by something like 20 percent.

can't we & Imran Khan do same thing with our Govt. ? Give them a bit of credit and work along with Govt. to improve our conoutry ?
My question is why Imran Khan is so negative abt Govt. ? why don't work along with them ? And I don't agree that he didn't receive any help from Govt. for all projects (which I have been told here) are underway in Mianwali.

That's good to know that progress is been made & money is used properly.
BTW Imran Khan is against **** Bagh dam and other dams ? or he is with govt. on this issue ?

Nope thats incorrect too. **** Bagh dam issue was that we should make small dams which would create actually a smaller financial risk and provide more water. But the government was keen on spending more money and creating more deficit. Thats why imran objected. He simply stated that it wasnt smart for a country who doesnt have the financial capacity to suddenly waste money on something that could be done with less.

I asked abt this as I was not sure if he is with Govt. of against Govt.
His reason just prooves that one way or the other, he is against Govt. and it's development programmes. Good going

The point is he isnt anti government. He is anti musharraf. he feels that musharraf could have quickly appointed an independent judicial system the powers are seperate. Thats besides the point though.

Mush is Govt at moment, that makes him anti Govt. what ever decision will be made by Mush, Imran will reject it.

He isnt necessarily anti government though, he does on alot of issues side with the government its like democrat and republican. They dont side with each other on everything. your basically saying he is bad politician because he doesnt side with a government. Kerry is horrible because he isnt in power.


Let me say though that amongst all this he has flaws just like any other leader. People magnify him more than others.

While I dont agree w/ some of the stuff he says abt cricket, but as a politician i'll have no problems whatsoever w/ imran as our prime minister. Problem is, it wwill not happen anytime soon unless anything drastically changes. Almost ev thing he says in his interviews is spot on.

I have also read alot abt his personal life, and it is nothing but inspirational. A bit of a hot head who treated quite a few of his team mates rather harshly during his playing days, he was and still is the most passionate of pakistanis and has great vision for the country. Hopefully his party will gain more prominence soon enough.

Very nice read.........thanks for sharing. Imran Khan has lived life to the ultimate fullest, he is a true warrior who never gived up till the very end, he has evreything, these men only come once in a century, he has helped many people throughout his life........Imran Khans finest moments was winning the world cup as captain and the completion of Pakistans first cancer hospital, Imran Khan is the best allrounder to have played the great game, Imran Khan deserve many accliads.