KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf held on Thursday a rally led by its chief Imran Khan in Muttahida Qaumi Move­ment’s stronghold Azizabad, where life remained almost suspended amid charged political activity under heavy police security.

The two parties demonstrated ‘goodwill gestures’ and wished each other well, but at the same time their workers clashed during the rally for the election campaign of PTI candidate Imran Ismail in the by-election on NA-246 constituency, to be held on April 23.

At the end of the hours-long episode, it remained unclear for many whether Imran Khan succeeded in ending the ‘atmosphere of fear’ in Karachi amid a question mark over a reaction from the MQM which welcomed its rival under democratic norms, but at the same time was unable to restrain its workers and supporters from being violent and provocative.

The positive outcome might be the post-rally gestures from the two sides. MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar condemned the attack on PTI workers, but rejected an allegation that workers of his party were involved in the clash. “Some elements tried to harm the peaceful environment,” he alleged.

Minutes before his departure to Islamabad in a private jet, Imran Khan praised MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s statement to welcome and facilitate the PTI rally, but ‘regretted’ that Muttahida activists had attacked his workers.

“But I also come to know that not all MQM workers were involved in that [attack] as a large number of them were restraining them,” he told reporters at Karachi airport. “That was a good gesture from Altaf Hussain to ask his Rabita Committee to welcome us and meet us. But the MQM should also investigate how the incident happened and who was behind that,” the PTI chief said.

Earlier in the day, Imran Khan, leading a caravan of dozens of vehicles, took a round of the NA-246 constituency with Imran Ismail and other party leaders. It was a typical PTI show with a large number of youngsters and women dancing to the accompaniment of party songs and riding motorbikes, cars, jeeps, mini-trucks and vans.

Mr Khan was accompanied by his wife Reham Khan.

The rally entered the constituency from Gharibabad, where a brief faceoff was witnessed when dozens of youngsters carrying MQM flags emerged and chanted slogans and danced on the route of the PTI caravan. The atmosphere turned tense, but no untoward incident occurred.

Outside Jinnah ground, near Nine Zero, MQM leaders, including Dr Farooq Sattar, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Haider Abbas Rizvi and Wasim Akhtar, welcomed Imran Khan and his rally. They greeted the PTI chief as he got off his jeep. The meeting lasted a few minutes before Imran Khan and PTI leaders visited Yadgar-i-Shuhada (monument of martyrs), built by the MQM for its workers killed over the years.

When Imran Khan was returning from the area, a couple of workers holding PTI flags were beaten up by a group of youngsters. They were later rescued by policemen and other people.

The PTI chief claimed that they were MQM activists, but the Muttahida denied it.

Mr Khan described his visit as a successful political show, but came up with a strange excuse to change the venue of the party’s April 19 rally scheduled to be held in Jinnah ground.

“I think it’s not spacious enough for a massive rally,” he told reporters at the airport. “So I have advised Imran Ismail and our other party leaders in Karachi to look for an alternative place. We will hold at any cost. Today’s rally was a major success and you will see that trend in by-election results.”

After thanking Altaf Hussain for his goodwill gesture, the PTI chief criticised the MQM for “following politics of arms and violence in Karachi” which affected the lives of Karachiites as well as economy.

“I ask Altaf Hussain and MQM to give up the politics of arms. The people of Karachi are living in fear. Even today I saw some people waving to me with a kind of fear. It’s a defining moment for the MQM and it should now realise that Pakistan is changing fast and it has to dissociate itself from armed people,” he said.

Mr Khan did not visit Nine Zero as expected by MQM leaders, where a lunch was prepared to serve him. The party also bought a jewellery set as gift for Reham Khan on Altaf Hussain’s directives and made arrangements to welcome the couple.

The MQM leaders said they called it enough that Imran Khan started the by-election campaign from Yadgar-i-Shuhada which boosted the morale of their workers.

“It was a wrong perception that MQM workers were involved in the unpleasant incident on the arrival of Imran Khan at Jinnah ground,” Dr Farooq Sattar later said at a press conference.

“Altaf Hussain has offered goodwill gesture to the PTI which its leaders have admitted. Imran Khan even thanked the MQM delegation and told them that he had prayed for “our martyrs”, the MQM leader said.

“Keeping our tradition alive, we had arranged gifts and a sumptuous lunch for the guests and our coordination committee, central executive council, MNAs and MPAs welcomed the PTI leadership at Jinnah ground,” he said.

Mr Sattar said both parties should keep an eye on saboteurs to make the election process peaceful, show maturity and responsibility and ask their workers to remain peaceful.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2015

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