PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday said the by-elections taking place in Karachi on Sunday were actually a “referendum” aimed at deciding the “fate” of the country.

The by-polls on two National Assembly constituencies of Karachi — NA-237 (Malir-II) and NA-239 (Korangi-I) — will take place the day after tomorrow.

Addressing a rally in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony today, Imran asked supporters to pronounce their verdict in the by-elections and reject the “imported government”.

Also read: All set for Karachi’s Malir, Korangi by-polls; troops on standby, says ECP

“I am going to launch the biggest march in the country’s history and a sea of people will come out with us and give a verdict in our favour,” he said.

Terming Karachi the “finance engine of Pakistan”, Imran said the city ran the country on the economic front, adding its people were sensible and politically aware.

He also subjected his former ally MQM-P to criticism, pointedly asking them: “Are you happy with Zardari? Has he resolved all the issues of Karachi?”

The ex-PM said that his government initiated the Karachi Circular Railway project along with the Green Line Bus service. “We also started the K4 project that was on the back burner for 14 years.”

Imran said his next stopover would be interior Sindh where, according to him, he would lead a drive to “free people from the clutches of Zardari”.

The PTI chief called upon rally participants to “take responsibility” in his “fight against corruption”, saying “it is not my job alone to battle against corruption in the country.”

Earlier, he also accused Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his family for “plundering the nation’s wealth and stashing it in properties abroad”.

It was the first Karachi rally of PTI addressed by its chairman after April 2022 public meeting, which was staged in Bagh-i-Jinnah days after his government was ousted through a no-confidence vote.