Skipper, Under- 19 Team

FORMER cricket hero Imran Khan may be hogging the limelight, but the electoral prospects for his fledgling바카라 웹사이트 Tehrik- e- Insaf look uncertain. Having launched his party barelyain. 10 months ago, the 44- year- old cricketer- turned- politician, whose "justice for all" slogan is winning him support in a country plagued by corruption, poverty and unemployment, is pitted against two heavyweights. And to make things more challenging for himself, he has also taken on President Farooq Leghari.

Imran told reporters in Islamabad fair and impartial polls were "notthat possible" unless the president resigned. Upholding Leghari’s dissolution of the National Assembly Bhutto government, he claimed thatand thethe president and his caretaker administration had failed to proceed against the "political mafia". "Leghari and Nawaz Sharif have struck a deal to support each other," Imran said, alleging that the administrative machinery was being used to ensure the success of Sharif’s party. Imran claimed that 20,000 ‘bogus’ voters have been put on the rolls in the National Assembly constituency in Lahore, where he is pitted against Sharif. Though he did not announce a boycott, he said he was keeping that option open.

The Tehrik- e- Insaf has put up around candidates for the National Assembly and150 about 300 for the 450 provincial constituencies. And since he is the party’s main vote- getter— he is still a cricket hero in a land where people pray for the national team— Imran has kept up a gruelling campaign schedule. Clad in a khaddar salwar suit and a woollen coat, his usual attire, he has been on the road (in his Nissan minivan) for months now.

"The worst part of being a politician is that I never have time to sleep or eat," he quips. His day usually begins at 8 am and ends 18 hours later. He eats on the run: handfuls of nuts when he is addressing a small gathering, bananas that someone passes through the car window as he pulls into town, cake at a supporter’s home. has crisscrossed the country by road (withoutImran police escort), by air (he flies economy class) and by train (second- class) to build support for his fledgling party.

And while he is untainted by corruption charges and financial scandals, unlike Benazir Bhutto and Sharif, the ghost of his playboy refuses to go away. His marriage to Jemimapast Goldsmith and paternity claims by Sita White have provoked scandals in a conservative Islamic society.

Imran confesses that he has no political experience and has never even voted. But his promise of a new system seems to have won him considerable support. But as commentator Mujibur Rehman Shami notes, Imran is "leading an under- 19 team". (The voting age is 21.)

People who might never vote for him want their photographs taken with him. Women who berate him for not marrying Pakistani gather around him for autogr-aphs.a Even party organisers bicker over who gets to ride with him when he comes to town. Imran is turning into a celebrity providing colour to a controversial cam paign but will have to wait in the wings to lead his country.