Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Indian cricketer-turned-politician, left India on Friday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan as Pakistan’s next Prime Minister. He arrived Lahore via the Wagah border from where he will travel to Islamabad to attend Khan's oath-taking ceremony scheduled for tomorrow.
While interacting with the media personnel, he welcomed the "change" in Pakistan's democracy and stated that Khan should come forward in peace initiative between the two neighbours.
“I have come here not as a politician but as a friend. I have come here to take part in the happiness of my friend (Imran),” he said, adding sportsmen and artists help to bring the people of two sides closer.
“Hindustan jeevay, Pakistan jeevay,” he chanted while reading a verse.
Sidhu said former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away yesterday, also talked about peace between the two countries.
Quoting late Vajpayee, he said, “If there is a fire at a neighbour's house we get the heat of it.”
Talking about the qualities of Khan, the former cricketer said: "I have seen Khan converting his weaknesses into his strength. I wish Imran becomes a symbol of prosperity (for his country).”
Replying to a query on the gift he has brought for the former Pakistan Test captain, Sidhu said, “I have brought a Kashmiri shawl for Khan Sahib.”
Earlier this week, former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev whom Khan had invited on his swearing-in had declined the invitation citing personal engagements.