If they played baseball in Pakistan

Given that the vast majority of visitors to Grub Street are North American it seemed a bad move to mention cricket in the headline. I will let you conjure with the baseball proposition, but will discuss the real game, well real to we Australians and to Pakistanis among others.

Among the pantheon of cricketing greats is one Imran Khan, former Pakistan captain and current leader of one of the countries smaller parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice). Though the party is small, in a country where personality rules, Imran Khan ensures it punches above its weight.

Khan, the chairman of the party is also the Chancellor of the University of Bradford, England. He has a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and is a Master of Arts of the University of Oxford. You are going to here more from this man in the future as one of the louder pro-democracy voices in Pakistan.

Khan has demanded Musharraf's resignation in the backdrop of former Premier Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Emphasising the need for the opposition parties to come together against Musharraf, he said that free and fair elections were needed for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. He will continue to speak out on this issue, but what does he stand for?

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf represents a slice of the countries middle class voters, one of its current aims is to remove the military from political power. But more to the point they are seeking a sustainable democracy for the country.

Khan has recently put forward a solution for Pakistan's issues related to its system which is probably indicative of the thrust. His solution has three points:

1. Independent Election Commission
2. Independent Judiciary
3. Independent Accountability Bureau

Keep an eye out for Imran and wish him and his party well.

"Our future and the future of our children is at stake and we must show that we made a stand. The truth is with you so there is no need to fear the consequences!" -- Imran Khan, Sep 20 2007

The India cricket team are currently touring Australia, which is a sort of blessing. Try as you might you can’t keep politics out of sport, certainly not at international level at least.

But Australia is due to tour Pakistan in March and our elite cricketers are understandably nervous, as are their families. A batsman might show a heap of bravery facing a 5 1/2 oz cricket ball hurtling at him at 90 miles an hour, but a country in chaos is another matter altogether.

The other side of the coin is that depriving the people of Pakistan of the diversion of a test match series could and probably would inflame frustration and anger. The last tour was relocated to Bangladesh because of security fears.

The Pakistani authorities are at pains to express guarantees for the safety of players, but they clearly cannot provide appropriate levels of security in the country. It seems increasingly likely Musharraf will be gone before March, but there are no clear signs of an easy succession.

Sports diplomacy has been effective in the past, but it also has its casualties. I admire Imran’s stand for his country and would love to see the Aussie team complete the tour, but I can also understand the concerns of players and their families in this situation.