by Paul Rance

Created on: January 22, 2012   Last Updated: January 25, 2012

Imran Khan was one of Pakistan's greatest cricketers, and one of the finest all-rounders in the history of the game. But it was as captain of Pakistan that he first showed impressive leadership qualities on an international stage. Those qualities he would later transport to his political career. Even without his past as an outstanding cricketer, Imran Khan has many qualities that would have pushed him forward as a strong voice in Pakistan. 

A Humanitarian 

Because of his hero status as a cricketer in Pakistan, Imran Khan will always be able to galvanize sizeable support. But that alone won't be enough to sustain a political career. Imran has proved himself to be a driven man on humanitarian issues, such as being the guiding force behind the building of a major hospital for cancer sufferers in Pakistan. This was something Imran felt compelled to do, after his late mother was killed by the disease. That the hospital emphasizes caring for people, who are too poor to receive cancer treatment elsewhere, underlines how Imran's philosophy could stretch to other areas of Pakistani society. 

Knowledge of Cultural Differences 

Educated at Oxford University and once married to millionaire heiress Jemima Khan, Imran Khan understands cultural issues between East and West. Considering the often fraught relationship between Pakistan and the West, on matters relating to international terrorism, a solid knowledge of cultural differences is essential for a modern day politician in Pakistan.

Imran Khan captained Pakistan when they won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, but his greatest days are maybe ahead of him. Always charismatic, Imran could be the man that Pakistan and the West needs in both reconciling their differences - and in helping to eradicate the terrorism that blights the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area. Imran is also determined to eliminate corruption in Pakistani politics. 

Popular Politician 

In Karachi, 100,000 people listened to Imran Khan's speech on Christmas Day, 2011. Karachi is a city that is not fervently pro-Imran, so that such a crowd should turn out signified a shift in support for Imran. Some observers claimed it to be the biggest political rally in the city for 20 years. A YouGov-Cambridge poll in December 2011 suggested that Imran is comfortably the most popular politician in Pakistan. Imran Khan also has strong support from powerful Pakistanis based in Europe. It seems that it is his PTI party, more than Imran Khan himself, that needs to finally convince the Pakistani people of a need for change. 

In his university days, Imran Khan was romantically linked to the assassinated Pakistan president Benazir Bhutto. Ironically, it could be Imran who is the most likely to carry on her work in building a new Pakistan.

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