Let me start with the quote of Warren Bennis “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”. The above lines find relevance of all sorts to the personality of Imran Khan who is all set to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Imran khan was the legendary cricketer and everyone knows the his life is an open book and crystal clear. His journey starts from cricketer and now he has become virtually the political captain of Pakistan. Whole Pakistan celebrates his victory with great pomp and show. Imran Khan born on 5 October 1952 in a Pashtun family of Lahore started playing cricket at an early age, due to his love for the game and made his debut at the age of 19 years. He always played cricket with great zeal and enthusiasm as a result of which Khan joined Pakistan national team and captain it for several years. After completing graduation from Oxford, he spent whole time with playing cricket .He is the only captain of Pakistan who lead the team and took it to great heights. It was a honour for whole country when Khan lead his team to victory at 1992 cricket world cup and interestingly he is the only winning captain from Pakistan.
In 1991 he launched a fundraising campaign to setup a cancer hospital in memory of his mother. From the very beginning he had deep concerns for humanity and an interest to serve his nation was the main aim of his life. In 1996 khan founded the Pakistani-Tehreek-e-Insaaf and became the national leader. People called him with many names such as, Immi khan, Taliban khan because of his efforts and negotiations with Taliban. He was always against US drone strikes and plans. He knows the polices of almost all the key states in the world and is well versed with the trends of present day diplomacy. Khan has great vision for new generation his policies are likely to be focused on educational empowerment, protection of the weaker section of society and fight for equal rights and crusade against corruption are the two main commitment of his party.The resolution of Kashmir as is clear from his first statements after resounding victory of his party would be priority of the foreign policy of his government.
Everyone in Kashmir sees a ray of hope in him at a time when civilian deaths in Kashmir have attracted international criticism. It is time for India to show sincerity and come forward for dialogue to solve the long pending Kashmir issue. From the 1947 people in Kashmir have suffered on both the sides of the Line of Control (lOC) as they face bullets, pellets and not a single day goes unreported without a killing be it a civilian, a uniformed man or a militant. Though war mongers in their cozy rooms deliver provocative speeches and spread hatred among masses in both India and Pakistan but Imran khan has generated a hope for peace and tranquility in his very first remark on Kashmir issue . People in both India and Pakistan yearn for peace and development, as Imran Khan has promised Pakistan free from violence of all forms and manifestations with renewing commitments to cub corruption. A peaceful Pakistan having good relationship with its neighboring countries is in the interests of India as many Indian leaders said so immediately after Imran Khan’s party emerged victorious in just concluded general elections in Pakistan.
Fortunately Imran Khan too is interested to see change in Pakistan. He is influenced by the ideology of Ali Mohd Jinnah and Sir Mohd Iqbal. Everyone looks towards him as a Shaheen of Pakistan, in my Kashmir people have lot of expectations from him. Though Pakistan is mired in many controversies but Imran Khan will definitely show them the way which leads towards the peace and prosperity of that country. For last several decades Pakistan is going through worst phase of financial crisis. It was shameful for the whole country to see its three time Prime Minister convicted and moving into the Jail .Imran khan has a lot of experience as he knows the ground situation of his country. In fact people have choosen a right candidate at the right tiime. It was disgusting and distasteful to watch anchors on Indian TV channel portraying Imran Khan just like villion of the boyhood and their response to Imran Khan’s election victory was highly condemnable. People of Valley in Jammu and Kashmir are optimistic and let us hope for better tomorrow.
(The author is a freelancer. His views are personal)