KARACHI: There was no calm before the storm. Experiencing strong winds and high tides in the political atmosphere for a couple of days now, the city by the sea was finally hit by the much anticipated ‘tsunami’ on Saturday night. Meanwhile all others afraid of drowning in the flood kept at bay while looking for remedies for their Saturday night fever.

It’s not a protest, it is a campaign. It is a wake-up call. Though the one who has given it, has now started wearing dark glasses indoors. But he looks fully awake on the T-shirts worn and distributed by many of his supporters and on the green posters calling all to his jalsa. And his call is well-received. Because, unlike other political gatherings where people arrive from all over in trucks and buses on being promised a box of biryani or pulao and a few rupees, here the ones coming were following their heart.

When reminded that the actual gathering will happen around 9pm, the ones coming to the venue in the heat while fasting at around 4pm said they were fine with waiting. “We just want to grab a nice spot at the front of our enclosure in order to be able to see Imran Khan clearly,” said Aqil and wife Qirat Akil. The couple told Dawn that they were sick and tired of seeing greedy and corrupt people pushing aside the honest people. “It happened with President Musharraf earlier and now history is repeating itself with Imran Khan. We were young when it happened with Musharraf. But we have grown up now. Imran is not alone. We have his back. We won’t let him get pushed over so easily,” said Aqil.

Razia Asif, who also arrived early, came alone. “My husband works in the evenings and my children were busy with college and university. My children will join me here after Iftar. I have explained to them that we need to come out to show our loyalty to a loyal son of the soil. This is the time to do it. Imran Khan needs us,” she said.

Unlike other political gatherings, people arrive by their own conveyance

Afsar Jan, Hasnain Ali Shah, Attaullah, Shahrukh Khan and Shahnawaz said that they had travelled all the way from Gilgit-Baltistan. “I was crying when Imran Khan left the Prime Minister’s office. I was praying till the end that a miracle will stop him from leaving. But now I realise that the miracle is in our hands, it’s in our numbers. We have to show our numbers. It will also help our leader gain more strength,” said Afsar Jan, who said that they had travelled themselves and were staying in Karachi with their cousins.

Raheel Khan and Arifa Raheel had come with toddlers Parisa and Almir from Pak Colony. “I have been a PTI supporter for 12 years,” said Raheel. “Before that I used to support the MQM but Imran’s vision, his truthfulness drew me towards PTI,” he added.

Khatoon Begum, an elderly woman from Korangi, said that she was there to bring Imran back to power. “I don’t want the thieves to win,” she said.

Elderly volunteer Sultan said that he was not with any party, he was just on the side of ‘truth’. “I’m like a neutral umpire. I go by the rules and I feel that Imran Khan abides by the rules. He tells the truth. If he were lying, the liars would still be with him,” he said.

A heavy tractor with a trolley attached passed through the narrow lanes around the Empress Market to head to the Jinnah Ground gates with just a handful of men in sweat-stained dirty shalwar kameez. There were not many like them arriving there. Most who came wore cool cotton clothes, jeans and T-shirts. The women had short and sassy hairstyles or long pony tails. If any covered their hair with a scarf or dupatta, it was to not ruin their hair in the wind or to save themselves from the hard rays of the hot sun. The man had their jelled hair neatly slicked back with metal hairbands. Some wore piggy tails, some even buns. And most wore the PTI memorabilia caps. Almost all had stylishly looped a memorabilia scarf around their necks or if not that then they had turned them into bandanas.

Meanwhile, there was no shortage of young boys selling you the memorabilia. And not just the PTI memorabilia, they were also selling Pakistan flags after Imran’s telling them to raise the country’s flag along with his party flag.

There were several entry points to the ground. One gate was used for the big four-wheel vehicles used by the VIPs, and there was no shortage of those. Another was for the volunteers, another for ladies though everyone but women was going in from there. The ladies were being allowed entrance from gate four reserved for families. Meanwhile, gate five was for the youth and gate six for the general public.

When the stage management started testing the microphones and music, many supporters just could not not be a part of all the excitement. Then those who could not find the patience within themselves to wait in line started climbing over the grills, risking the sharp pointed rods there. No volunteer, not the ones in the florescent orange vests, nor the ones in the green vests could control them.

As it became dark, the venue also filled up. The roads witnessed the worse traffic jams as the water tanker blockades added to every one’s problems. But a gentle breeze helped all the flags, the Pakistan flags and the party flags, to flutter. The big banners hanging from grills and pedestrian bridges along the roads leading to Jinnah Ground with messages reminding of foreign aims and agendas also swayed in the air. Nothing or no one was afraid. It was time to have one’s say and fearlessly show up in numbers, just like the leader drawing the crowds keeps reminding everyone to not be scared or intimidated by anything, not even tsunamis.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2022