His face may wear a few more creases these days, but it's easy to see why this suave, talismanic figure was many housewives' favourite cricketer back in the 1980s, during his pomp. So when he explains that he's dedicating his life to saving Pakistan from political corruption, you're inclined to believe him.

Khan has become accustomed to being in the limelight as a sporting warrior, ambassador, politician and would-be leader of his troubled country. So much so that his marriage in 1995 to Jemima Khan, daughter of buccaneering billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, was front page news, just as their separation was, nine years later.

The 55-year-old is back in Bradford, where he is chancellor of the city's university, for the first time in 12 months, during which time Pakistan has endured great political upheaval. In November, Khan was among thousands of people arrested during a political rally protesting against President Pervez Musharraf's decision to sack the country's independent judges.

He was released, but the following month former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi, leaving the country once again on a knife edge.

Khan's Justice party boycotted the postponed elections in February, amid concerns of vote rigging, and he says Pakistan remains a country in turmoil. "The situation is very unpredictable, it is in some ways dangerous and it is unstable because there is no effective government." Although Musharraf is still president, the country's parliament is dominated by Bhutto's party, now run by her widower Asif Ali Zardari, and supporters of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif.

Khan believes one of the main causes of the political unrest in his homeland is its ongoing links with what he calls the "misguided" war on terror. "More and more terrorists are being produced through this war, and the indiscriminate killing of civilians. Because the allies don't have enough soldiers they rely on aerial bombing and bombs do not differentiate between women, children, innocent people and terrorists."

Khan is a longstanding critic of US foreign policy in the region. "The terrorists who stood isolated after 9/11 today have a lot of people joining them because of hatred against the US. There were 65 suicide attacks in Pakistan last year, whereas before 9/11 there was not even one in our history."

He is also critical of the way the authorities in Pakistan dealt with Bhutto's murder, claiming that many people believe there was some kind of cover-up. "The authorities completely cleaned up the whole site, they hosed down everything. There had been two attempts on Musharraf and in those cases they sealed off the sites for two weeks and yet here they were, within one hour, hosing down the whole area, including the jeep she was killed in. Then they very quickly blamed the Taliban and seven months down the line there is still no inquiry,"
he says.

While Khan's party is on the political fringes in Pakistan, unlike Bhutto's, he is an equally high-profile figure and there are fears he could also become a terrorist target. But he disagrees. "Benazir was a big target for two reasons – one, she had openly taken the American line on terrorism and wanted to fight the Taliban, so clearly those who were against the Americans would target her. But those who were scared of losing power because of Benazir, they also had a reason to target her."

Khan set up his Movement for Justice party in 1996 to campaign for an independent justice system. But why, after being fêted as one of cricket's greatest players, did he enter the political fray? "The reason I went into politics was because if people like me, who are privileged, don't get involved then politics will stay in the hands of mafias and criminals and I wanted to fight this," he says.

Khan was born into a wealthy family in Lahore, and remembers clearly the moment he wanted to be a cricketer. "I was nine years old when I watched my older cousin score a hundred against the MCC in Lahore. I went there with my mother and that's when I decided I wanted to be a Test cricketer," he says. "I never had any doubt that I would succeed from nine onwards, just as I have no doubt
I will succeed in bringing about
a socio-economic revolution
in Pakistan."

He says he was "blessed" with the self-confidence that he could achieve anything he set his mind to. "Because I was better at cricket than the other boys of my own age, I always assumed I would be better than (all) others. But this was quite misplaced, I can tell you, because when I went outside my school I got a big shock. There were a lot of boys better than me.

"But the golden lesson I've discovered in life is you only lose when you give up. So although there were more talented cricketers than me, this was the one thing that helped me, that I would always fight to the last ball and never accepted defeat until the match was over."

It was an attitude that served him well during a Test career spanning 20 years that yielded 3,807 runs and 362 wickets. He cites leading the first Pakistan team to win a Test series in India, and winning the 1992 cricket World Cup, as among his most memorable sporting achievements. But it was holding the much-vaunted West Indies to a draw in their own backyard during the 1987-88 tour that gave him the greatest pleasure.

"We were the first team in 15 years to go there and get a draw, because in those days it was not a case of winning against the West Indies, it was about losing with dignity. So that remains as a cricketer and captain the hardest series I've ever played in, but
one which gave me the
greatest satisfaction."

Khan, along with Ian Botham and Kapil Dev, was one of the greatest all-rounders of his generation, an era that produced some exceptional cricketers. "The greatest batsman was easily Viv Richards, but at that time there was an abundance of quality fast bowlers which you don't see now. There were three who stood out – Michael Holding, he was the fastest I've faced, and then there was Dennis Lillee and Malcolm Marshall, who were not just fast bowlers, but skilful fast bowlers."

Aside from his sporting and political career, Khan was also the driving force behind the Shaukhat Khanum Cancer Hospital, in Lahore, the only cancer hospital in Pakistan. "My mother had cancer and I brought her to England for treatment because there was no cancer hospital in Pakistan. People like us could afford to take their nearest and dearest abroad for treatment, but I thought, 'What happens to 99 per cent of Pakistanis who can't?'"

The hospital is now the biggest charitable institution in the country, and treats around 75 per cent of patients free of charge. "The motivation was that a poor man could walk in and get quality treatment without worrying about the cost," says Khan, who is hoping to open a second hospital in Karachi.

He has also set up Namal College, an associate college of Bradford University, in the Punjab, to provide an education to children from poor families living in rural areas. The college, which opened in April, has 75 students studying IT, English and Maths, and it's hoped will become a model for similar colleges across the country. "The idea is to have quality education in Pakistan which at the moment is only for the elite. The masses have no access to it."

To some people, Khan's ideas sound wildly optimistic, even militant, and critics have accused him of political naivety and lacking a clear strategy. Not surprisingly, he disagrees. "Had we fought the elections, I think our party would have been the third biggest, but we boycotted them because we wanted to show solidarity with the judges who had been sacked by Musharraf."

He claims Pakistan is little more than a "sham democracy", but is convinced that his party will one day lead the country. "I have no doubt that my party's going to be in power, because it's the most popular party among young people and what we stood for has been vindicated."

And it was Britain that helped inspire his political vision. "The two things that impressed me about Britain when I first came here as an 18 year-old, were the rule of law and the welfare state. That's what a humane society is all about – justice and compassion."