Former Pakistan cricketers and compatriots of Imran Khan look forward to his regime as a Prime Minister just as they did when the tall fast bowler lead the national side.
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Rashid Latif: “We have to watch and wait for how he performs if he becomes the Prime Minister. It’s too early. But I think, if he comes to power he will focus on Kashmir and will try to resolve the problem through dialogue. Kashmir is the biggest issue in the India-Pakistan relation. So his focus will be on that, with an eye to improve bilateral relations. Imran Khan led Pakistan to the World Cup glory in 1992. If he becomes the Prime Minister, the whole cricket fraternity will be proud. But politics is different from cricket – far more complicated and difficult.”
Mushtaq Ahmed: “The Pakistani youth needs a leader like him. He is a believer. He has the courage of convictions. As the captain of the Pakistan cricket team, he used to give ‘ownership’ to his teammates for different jobs. He used to create leaders within the group, not the followers. And I believe he will address the corruption issue. He is very determined about doing insaaf (justice). He will revamp the health sector. He has already done a lot in this regard. He will face challenges, but given that he has got great self-belief, he would like to face the challenges.
Being a cricketer, I hope he will use cricket to build bridges between Pakistan and India. India is not playing any cricket with Pakistan at the moment. But I think Imran bhai will try to use cricket to promote people-to-people contact. But we will have to wait and see.”
Shoaib Mohammad: “I know him so long. He has worked honestly for 20 years from the grassroots (in politics) to come this far. Imran, if he becomes the Prime Minister, will bring in honesty and integrity. Of course he won’t carry a magic wand. People will have to be patient. He will have many problems to deal with. But he will take the challenges head-on, like he used to do as the leader of the Pakistan cricket team.”