LAHORE. Feb 1: Cricket hero Imran Khan, the man who led his country to World Cup fame in 1992. is facing his toughest Test yet. reports AP.

In his bid to succeed deposed Pakistani Prime Minister Be nazir Bhutto, he has been hounded by reports of his playboy past and opponents' attempts to play up his wife's Jewish heritage in this Islamic country.

A British heiress has gone public with claims Khan fathered her 4-year-old daughter and threatened a paternity suit, making front page news in Pakistan.

In this conservative country, having a child out.of wedlock is shocking. Denying one. as Khan has done, is unthinkable.

Khan. 42. does not deny he dated society women and fre-3uented night clubs during his ays as a world class cricket player and. before that, as a student at Oxford University. But since retiring from sports in 1992. he says, he’s transformed himself into a devout Muslim.

He once vowed to marry a woman who observed Purdah, or life behind the veil. But in 1995. he married British heiress Jemima Goldsmith.

His political opponents have

attacked his wife, the daughter of English billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, for her Jew ish heritage and charged that Khan s campaign is being funded by agents of Israel.

In Pakistan, where newspapers and politicians often blame disasters, bombings or misfortune on Israel. India or the Untied States, his wife's Jewish link has captured headlines.

Khan says that although his wife's ancestors were Jewish, she was Protestant — and converted to Islam to marry him.

Khan insists scandal has not damaged him.

"As far as the people are concerned. it's a non-issue." he told The Associated Press. "The issue now In Pakistan is corruption... and we are the only party that can bring change. "

His Justice Party has fielded candidates for most of the 217 Krliamentary seats that will up for grabs in Monday's election. If the party controls the National Assembly, its leader would become prime minister.

Some voters are willing to overlook questions about Khan's past and his wife, and embrace his pledge to clean up government. Khan has called

for the death penalty for corrupt officials.

Khalid Mahmood, a taxi driver in the capital, sees Khan as an alternative to Ms. Bhutto, who was dismissed November 5 on corruption charges, and to Nawaz Snarif, also previously in power and also dismissed on corruption charges.

we have seen how Nawaz and Benazir let us down," Mahmood said. "So this time. I will vote for Imran."

But Ghuri Khan, who lives in rural Dera Ismael Khan in northern Pakistan, say Khan hails from the same elite background as other Pakistani leaders.

"He says he is against VIP (very important people) culture, but he arrives here to campaign in a helicopter and stays with the richest man in town." he said.

Khan has crisscrossed the country in his campaign, but recent surveys here predict his party will be lucky to win five seats.

"He can’t expect to go straight from the cricket field to the (prime minister’s) house." said Iqbal Memon. a shopkeeper from Khan's hometown in the eastern Punjab capital of Lahore.