Though faced with the challenge of fixing some longstanding economic woes, Prime Minister Imran Khan symbolizes hope for many toward revival of Pakistan as a progressing country, according to the Time Magazine which rates him among the world’s 100 most influential persons of the year.
Pakistan is at a critical crossroads, and the man in charge is the closest it has to a rock star, writes known journalist Ahmed Rashid in an introduction to the Khan.
Besides skippering Pakistan to the fabled1992 Cricket World Cup triump, Khan has brought to his country a world-class cancer hospital in Lahore and a top-notch university, which serves a s dream-come-true opportunity for the underprivileged students.
Twenty years ago, he entered politics—a dirty business in Pakistan at the best of times, Rashid notes.
“Now he is Prime Minister of an impoverished nation that cannot pay its bills and is dependent on handouts from rich neighbors like China and the Arab Gulf states. Critics say Khan is too close to the army and Islamic fundamentalists, and chooses advisers poorly. Driven by fierce ambition, he can be cold and calculating.
“But he still generates the broadest hope among young and old that he can turn Pakistan around, and help make South Asia an ocean of peace rather than a state of permanent conflict,” Rashid, the author of several books, says.
