"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)," cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu told reporters at Wagah border as he crossed into Pakistan to attend friend Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony as prime minister scheduled to be held on Saturday.
Sidhu, Minister of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, and Museums in the Punjab government, said he has brought 'a message of love' to Pakistan as a goodwill ambassador of India.
"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 artistes help bringing the people of two sides closer.
"I have seen (Imran) Khan converting his weaknesses into his strength. I wish Imran becomes a symbol of prosperity (for his country)," Sidhu said.
Recalling the words of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sidhu said he also talked about peace between India and Pakistan.
"If there is a fire at a neighbour’s house we get the heat of it," Sidhu said quoting late Vajpayee.
Imran Khan had invited his cricketer friends Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev too for his swearing-in ceremony but they reportedly declined the invitation citing prior personal engagements.
WATCH: Imran Khan set to take oath as Pakistan PM
(With inputs from PTI)
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