<p>"I grew up hating India because I grew up in Lahore and there was so much...the massacres of 1947, so much bloodshed and anger.<br /><br />"But as I started touring India, I got such love and friendship there that all this disappeared," Khan said in an interview to Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN's 'Devil's Advocate' programme to be aired tonight.<br /><br />"As time passed, I realised that there's so much...we have a similar history, there's so much in culture that's so similar compared to Western countries.<br /><br />"There's so much we have in common and above all, there is so much the people of the two countries (can) benefit from if we have a civilised relationship," he added.<br /><br />Khan said if his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party came to power in the next general election, he would do his utmost to improve relations between the two countries.<br /><br />"I can give my best shot. I can fight to the last ball. We can only try. Success is sometimes not in our hands, it is in the hands of the almighty. So I can say that I will give it my best shot," he said. Khan said he prayed to God to allow him to work for better India-Pakistan relations "because I, for one, have received so much love in India".<br /><br />Asked if this vision would guide the relationship with India, he said, "Absolutely, I have no prejudice against any country, and more specifically, India."<br /><br />Referring to the Indian cricket team's tour of Pakistan in 2005-06, Khan said: "I'd never seen two countries as close as that. So it's very said that Mumbai happens (and) we were back to square one".</p>
<p>"I grew up hating India because I grew up in Lahore and there was so much...the massacres of 1947, so much bloodshed and anger.<br /><br />"But as I started touring India, I got such love and friendship there that all this disappeared," Khan said in an interview to Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN's 'Devil's Advocate' programme to be aired tonight.<br /><br />"As time passed, I realised that there's so much...we have a similar history, there's so much in culture that's so similar compared to Western countries.<br /><br />"There's so much we have in common and above all, there is so much the people of the two countries (can) benefit from if we have a civilised relationship," he added.<br /><br />Khan said if his Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party came to power in the next general election, he would do his utmost to improve relations between the two countries.<br /><br />"I can give my best shot. I can fight to the last ball. We can only try. Success is sometimes not in our hands, it is in the hands of the almighty. So I can say that I will give it my best shot," he said. Khan said he prayed to God to allow him to work for better India-Pakistan relations "because I, for one, have received so much love in India".<br /><br />Asked if this vision would guide the relationship with India, he said, "Absolutely, I have no prejudice against any country, and more specifically, India."<br /><br />Referring to the Indian cricket team's tour of Pakistan in 2005-06, Khan said: "I'd never seen two countries as close as that. So it's very said that Mumbai happens (and) we were back to square one".</p>