IT’S good to see Imran Khan back on his feet. The PTI leader was discharged from hospital on Wednesday and shifted to his Lahore home, though doctors say it’ll take another six to eight weeks before the former skipper is back in full form. His dramatic fall from a forklift as he was being hoisted onto a stage to address an election rally on May 7 in Lahore sent shockwaves across the nation and brought electioneering to a temporary halt. Horrified audiences viewed the repeated TV footage of the fall and the subsequent shifting of a bloodied, semi-conscious Mr Khan to hospital. The fall elicited sympathy not only from his supporters and the general public, but also from bitter poli-tical rivals. Considering the height of the fall and the fact Mr Khan received injuries to his backbone and chest, the recovery is remarkable. It is said the impact of the fall was mitigated by the bullet-proof vest he was wearing. The expert medical care he received aided his recovery while the respectable performance of his party at the polls must have given Mr Khan additional vigour.

Imran Khan had also battled injuries during his cricketing career. He suffered a leg injury in the mid-1980s, while he went into the 1992 World Cup final — which Pakistan won — nursing a bad shoulder. While his politics attracts derision and praise in equal measure, Mr Khan is a survivor. Now that his party is due to take power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and sit in the opposition in the centre, he’ll be faced with many more slippery slopes and potential falls of the political variety. To survive, he needs to display maturity and a sportsman’s spirit while he needs to lead his team by example, backing up his talk of good governance with action.