There are two forces whom nearly every Pakistani has loved to the core. One is our armed forces and one is our Great Khan. This love affair with Imran started off in the 70s when everyone in my generation had his posters pasted in every corner of their bedrooms(including me). We all wanted to emulate him in sports and general outlook.
He was not only popular in Pakistan but also more in India,Afghanistan,United Kingdom,Australia,US,Mideast and every Common Wealth country where cricket was seen and played.His charm and glamour was not confined to just one gender alone.
Imran in the 70s,80s and till the mid 90s was loved,adored and followed across all sections of the society without any bias. His popularity gained its Zenith when he brought home the world cup to the nation. He was our PRINCE of hearts without a shadow of doubt.
The nation welcomed him home as our greatest hero,there were long queues of politician lined up, trying to woo him for public favour. One of them ,the PM Nawaz Shareef even offered him a high slot in his Party.
Both Imran and Nawaz were good friends even much before his triumph in the world cup. They both had developed a good relationship of deep respect and mutual understanding that lasted for a few more decades(with ups and downs). They both knew each others strengths and weaknesses. Imran also respected Benazir Bhutto but never could formulate a similar working relationship as with the Shareefs.
Imran now wanted to build a Cancer Hospital for his late mother,he went city to city,the whole nation opened their hearts and gave him generous donations.But this was time consuming,the Shareefs opened their arms,CM MNS sanctioned a huge parcel of Govt land for SKMH and if this was not enough the family donated 50 crores for SKMH(1989) from their own pockets as admitted by IK below. It must be noted the Shareefs will never openly disclose any donation in the name of Allah till their graves.(currently the family is facing prosecution for buying London flats for rs 7 crores in 1993).
https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1038419043890487296
Imrans speeches on Civilian supremacy changed my ways of thinking, and to date i still believe in every single word he uttered. Had he stuck to his laid principles than,he would of had my Vote and support to the grave.(ignore the words/content of the twitter)
There are many contributions of Imran to our Society and we will forever be grateful to that. No one is perfect and we all have mistakes and surely our Allah will forgive us. There is just one request to IK and his followers with a sad heart.