India, Sept. 6 -- I can't claim Imran Khan is a friend but I've interviewed him on multiple occasions. In fact, in multiple locations - at a hotel in Delhi, at his home in Bani Gala near Islamabad, at his hospital in Lahore and at his in-laws' estate outside London in Kingston. On each occasion, he was charming. You can't help but get attracted to the man. Usually, he speaks in a blunt and forthright manner but never offensively and certainly not rudely. But he always makes his point and leaves you in no doubt of it.

He also has a droll sense of humour. "Are you going to eat me up?", he asked when I last interviewed him. "Certainly not," I replied. "Why do you ask?" "Because you did it on all the earlier occasions." He laughed loudly. "D...