PAKISTAN’S Prime Minister in waiting Imran Khan has appointed a leading Scots scholar to advise on policy.Former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan has announced Dr Azeem Ibrahim will be his strategic policy adviser in the campaign to become Pakistan’s next Prime Minister.Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) partyappointed Dr Ibrahim to his inner political sanctum as he strives to take control of one of the world’s most strategically pivotal nation states.

Dr Ibrahim, (35) grew up in a Glasgow council house and controlled a global business empire before becoming an advisor to world leaders. He taught himself the stock markets as he worked behind the counter of his father’s Maryhill grocery store.He has dined with presidents and prime ministers around the world, obtained his doctorate from Cambridge University and is one of the world’s leading experts on global security strategy.

Dr Ibrahim’s remit will be to develop comprehensive policies which can be implemented as soon as Khan takes office. Dr Ibrahim, who was a scholar at Harvard and Yale, was named as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2009 by the LSDP European Social Think Tank. He brings a formidable track record to such a task as over the past ten years, he has advised over half a dozen world leaders.Imran Khan’s party has gained significant momentum in the polls with a number of high profile defections from opposition parties and is currently riding the ‘tsunami’ of popularity.

Newsweek Pakistan conducted a recent survey with 97,000 people to find the Most Popular Leader in Pakistan.  Imran Khan topped the poll with an impressive 86%. No other leader achieved more than 6%.Many experts believe that on the current trajectory, he is likely to become the next prime minister of Pakistan by a landslide. Dr Ibrahim’s appointment is therefore being viewed as the logical next step as the Khan campaign makes the transition from an opposition political party to a government in waiting.

Imran Khan, arguably Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketer, began his political life in 1996 with the creation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. He established the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in 1994 and a college in 2008 with funds he raised. His growing popularity brings crowds of over 100,000 to his rallies and he is attracting support from both of the main established parties – 81% of PML-N supporters and 61% of PPP supporters give him a favorable rating.Imran Khan said of the appointment: “We are delighted to have someone with Azeem’s experience at the heart of our operation.”

Dr Ibrahim, who also serves as a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute for Social Policy Understanding said: “Imran Khan’s honesty and sincerity in a country where such traits are seriously lacking among the political elite clearly mark him out. When I first met Imran, I was struck by his ability to absorb huge amounts of complex information and immediately understand what needs to be done to take Pakistan forward in these challenging times. I am greatly honoured to be given this opportunity to serve the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.”