HYDERABAD: The Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) has announced that it will hold its biggest public gathering in Hyderabad soon and asked its workers and supporters to make preparations for the event.

The announcement was made by PSP chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal while making a brief speech to the participants in the welcome rally accorded to the party’s president, Anis Ahmed Qaimkhani, during his first visit to the city on Friday after being released on bail three days ago.

Mr Qaimkhani is facing a trail for his alleged complicity in providing medical treatment to terrorists at a hospital owned by former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain.The welcoming rally reached Latifabad while the area was hit by power outage under the routine load-management. Riding a five-door black Prado, Mr Qaimkhani uttered usual brief remark in praise of party workers and exchanged greetings with them over his release.

Mr Kamal delivered a brief speech to workers while riding a truck. He said that today’s rally was not sort of a public meeting. “It’s just to welcome Anis Bhai on his arrival in Hyderabad upon his release,” he said. He paid tribute to the people of Hyderabad for according him a warm welcome. He said that on many occasions he [Mr Kamal] planned to visit Hyderabad but changed his mind because he chose to come here along with Anis Bhai.

He said that the seven months old PSP had now widened its base to beyond Pakistan, in Australia, US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Sharjah and many others states while simultaneously reaching out to people in Punjab and Balochistan, besides various districts of Sindh.

“We recently held party workers’ convention in Karachi where we ran short of space to accommodate participants. That’s why, our party is counted among the largest parties, in terms of workers’ strength,” he claimed.

Mr Kamal said that the PSP president was booked in a false case but workers did not let down the party. The party faced testing time and now it was having an open space to work, he said, adding: “Future belongs to the PSP”.

Earlier, jubilant party workers unfurled Pakistani flags to welcome their leaders upon their arrival in the Hirabad locality. Reception camps were set up near Rajputana hospital as they were to reach that point from Karachi via the by-pass area but they had to make a detour through Kotri due to a blockade of the by-pass. They then moved straight to the camp from Qasim Chowk side.

After visiting Hala Naka, they entered the city via Hirabad and made brief stopovers at Liberty Chowk, Tilak Incline, Universal Chowk and Kohinoor Chowk.

The PSP leaders were to deliver speeches at Kohinoor Chowk but due to an abrupt change in the programme, they moved to their party office ‘Pakistan House’ in Latifabad Unit-6.

The welcome rally participants danced and sang party songs including ‘Bhayya Bhayya, Anis Bhayya, the one in the Rajasthani language — Mr Qaimkhani’s mother tongue.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2016