Will Khan be a major player in global politics?

WHILE the BRICS summit was under way in South Africa, where Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke of a changing world, a new major player emerged in global politics.

Former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan is Oxford-educated with majors in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) – a prerequisite for a director’s job in the then-prestigious Anglo American under Harry Oppenheimer.

The builder of Pakistan’s first cancer hospital, he vowed to raise awareness and build a cancer hospital with free/subsidised treatment, which got him an honorary fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians. This after his mom’s treatment in the UK, where he had to pay while the National Health Insurance (NHI) patient on the next bed did not, yet received the same treatment.

The Shaukat Khanum Hospital, endorsed by celebrities such as Amitabh Bachan and Princess Diana, can today report that 75% of its patients are financially assisted.

Khan’s involvement in the Nimal College as his former constituency is also legendary.

This shows a strong bias action and “social causes”.

A highlight of his personal life was when he married Jemima Khan (born Goldschmidt), the daughter of a Jewish billionaire, in spite of her being 20 years his junior.

Imran could have settled comfortably in his new home country, the UK, put on a British accent, and may have even ended up with a British title, peerage and even become (Sir) Imran Khan! I wonder if his children can be considered for Israeli citizenship, given a Jewish mom and grandparents. for

Imran Khan is a unique story for all those wanting to exit a Third World country for the “security” of the First World. He has been given many names, such as “Imran Khan’t” (when he had no hope of winning), and “Taliban Khan”.

A funny story was when he played his first match against India and the team lost hopelessly. During the after-game locker-room talk, the discussion was on how to get into Pakistan when everyone was asleep. So they arrived on a flight that landed at 4am, only to be held up by customs at the airport for three hours with all their shopping confiscated. The humiliation continued.

His style of politics seems to be about pragmatism and negotiations.

Khan remained true to his humble roots, stayed in Pakistan, took on the challenge of politics (where assassination is a strong risk) and with the military’s backing (this is his biggest political risk for now); it will come as no surprise that he will soon be Prime Minister Imran Khan. Well done to him on his achievements and inspiration. MUHAMMAD OMAR

Durban North