‘My ambition is to see Pakistan fulfill its potential by becoming a genuine democratic country which means having free and fair elections through an independent election commission where elections would take place as you would find in the UK or US.’
The name Imran Khan may still be synonymous with cricket and his ex-wife Jemima Khan however having met the man I quickly came to realize that his private life and his sporting days were the tip of the iceberg.
Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi is the son of Ikram Ullah khan Niazi Shermankhel and was born in November 25, 1952, in Mianwali. The former cricketer turned politician, Imran played Test cricket for Pakistan between 1971 and 1992, and was captain of the national team when they won their maiden World Cup in 1992. Currently, Imran is a member of Parliament and leader of the political party, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).
Far from the cricket pitch today and as the leader of the socio-political movement ‘Movement for Justice’ and a member of parliament the issue that matters most to Imran in his words is, ‘Pakistan like most of the developed world has come out of colonialism and is struggling to have a democratic form of government and that’s unfortunately because the colonial systems lead to authoritarian states. This can be seen in almost all ex-colonial countries.’
He is very critical of the judicial system in Pakistan, which he says prevents accountability for the elite class in Pakistan and by extension the overall economy in his country, ‘Pakistan is a very vibrant country it has huge potential but at the moment the biggest impediment is that we do not have political stability because we have a quasi military dictatorship. Secondly because of this strange sort of governmental system in Pakistan we don’t have a proper rule of law which is again a big impediment. Thirdly our resources are limited and not being spent on fundamentals like education as much as they ought to. Human development is one of the major engines of growth in any economy. I think Pakistan has tremendous potential but we need a proper Democratic system in place before the country has a chance to fulfill its potential.’
In 2005 Imran led a protest rally against the US-led coalition which had he believed has made a mockery of the Holy Quran and made statements denouncing the Musharraf–Bush coalition. Imran continues to be critical of Pro-American policies of Pakistan government. When asked on his views on the current US President’s views on Pakistan and the accusation that they harbour terrorists he seems to tense. Not surprising as during the visit in 2006 of George W. Bush to Pakistan, Imran was the only politician to attempt to hold a rally against his visit. The rally was stopped and Imran Khan was detained by the police.
‘I think the problem is not with Pakistan clamping down on terrorists in as such but more importantly the whole ‘US War on Terror’ campaign and more accurately ‘George Bush’s War on Terror’. Bear in mind that his policies have been rejected by most of the population in the US as witnessed in recent elections. The problem is that this ‘War on Terror’ does not distinguish between the genuine terrorists of 9/11 and those who were fighting for Liberation and the genuine fight for freedom from authoritarian states, by lumping them all together they actually have given credence to the terrorists of 9/11.
This in turn is developing into a never-ending war. Look at the cost of this war, all this money spent on so far which is about 450 billion dollars in all and about 900,000 people killed. Yet the world is much worse after those figures in fact there is more terrorism now than ever before. Why?
The US War on Terror is deeply flawed. Let’s be honest, how exactly is Pakistan supposed to control people who are going across Afghanistan to fight with the anti-American forces. It’s no longer just the Taliban it has actually become a pashtun national war which is occurring and this is going to get worse unless political settlement is found. This cannot be achieved as we are seeing purely by military means. You have to reach out to the hearts and minds of the people and get them the peace they ultimately want.’
Turning to the future and Imran’s plans for himself, his party and the people of Pakistan, he was unfailingly positive, ‘Well I have complete faith that my political party will be successful in the coming elections. Even if we do not win, but become a big political player in Pakistani politics. So my ambition is to become a big political player then get the people of Pakistan to believe it’s ready for Political change and eventually to see a democratic institution firmly in place.’
I had met Imran while he was giving a talk on the leisure industry at the Forbes CEO conference hosted in Qatar this year. ‘I think they are taking very bold steps in Dubai and Qatar using sports as a means of attracting attention to the country. In Western countries, people do not know much about these cities. These countries are ascertaining themselves. Dubai has taken the lead in this in that it has held mega sports events which attract a lot of attention and I think Qatar is doing the same. It’s a good way of introducing these cities to an international audience.’
For a man who had already reached superstar status in his area of sport I found myself wandering just how far Imran thought this region could go in terms of holding a mega sporting event such as the Olympics, ‘I think it’s possible; it all depends on how the region serves itself! It’s all a question of development and infrastructure. To host an event like the soccer World Cup or the Olympic Games, you really have to have the facilities for the athletes and huge infrastructure to cope with not just your own regional population but that of the international community that wishes to attend.’
As my time with Imran was running out I thought it best to end our interview on a light note;
Do you have any further ambitions in sports?
Any ambition in sports finished the day I finished playing cricket back in 1992.
Since then I have my sole ambition is political.