Sarghoda: You can’t lead a revolution and hide behind bullet-proof glass — at least not according to Imran Khan, wildcard contender for power at the ballot box in Pakistan next week.
Visibly tired by 15-hour days, frenetic flying and driving around the country to address tens of thousands in a campaign dominated by threats and fears of a terrorist attack, the cricket legend is nothing if not focused.
“This is a revolution taking place,” he said after a couple of days of hard campaigning in Punjab, his home province and the political backbone of Pakistan, which elects a little over half the seats in the national assembly.
“When I came to politics 17 years ago, I had already conquered my fear of dying because I knew I was going to challenge the status quo,” the 60-year-old said. But security is clearly a major preoccupation.
Khan says he’s on the “top five hit list”. He may not use the bullet-proof glass screens used by other politicians at public rallies, but he travels in an armoured car with an armed police escort.
A rally in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was cancelled on Sunday after attacks on rival parties killed more than 20 people. Attacks targeting the election campaign have so far killed over 60 people ahead of the May 11 polls.
“We couldn’t take a risk. It’s just too dangerous. I mean you can’t risk the life of other people,” the 60-year-old said.
Khan has two sons by his ex-wife Jemima Khan, daughter of the late billionaire James Goldsmith, but they live in Britain and he has not seen them for several months.
AFP
