Imran Khan robbed at gunpoint

Imran Khan, Pakistan's iconic former captain-turned-politician, has been robbed at gunpoint while driving through the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, according to officials of his opposition Justice Movement party.

Imran, 51, who won the World Cup with Pakistan in 1992, was driving with his maid and two sons, when he was forced to stop abruptly by an overtaking car. Two men with semi-automatic weapons emerged from nearby bushes and the group was forced to hand over their mobile phones, credit cards, a camera and a purse.

No-one was hurt, although the incident "symbolises the complete breakdown of law and order in the country," said Akbar S. Babar, a party spokesman. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, the interior minister, described the incident as "unfortunate" and told the APP news agency that the culprits would be tracked down. The head of the local police station has been suspended as a result.

Imran has rarely left the headlines since retiring from cricket after the World Cup triumph. He married Jemina Goldsmith, the daughter of the late Anglo-French billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, in 1995, although the marriage ended in divorce in June this year. His political party, meanwhile, managed a solitary seat in the national elections in 2002.