KARACHI: By-elections across the country on Sunday would serve as a ‘referendum’ and lead to the nation’s emancipation from an unjust order, Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief, vowed at a rally in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony on Friday.

“I shall give the call for a ‘march on Islamabad’ soon. The march will bring about ‘real freedom’ and ‘revolution’ in the country,” the PTI chief said.

Mr Khan stuck to his aggressive tone and staged a power show in Karachi as thousands of people cheered his each claim and declaration.

In a major assertion indicating his party’s political ambitions in Sindh, he expressed confidence that the Pakistan Peoples Party would lose its power base after the next general election due to “record corruption and bad governance” in its three consecutive terms since 2008.

Imran Khan said he was hopeful that PTI would sweep the local bodies elections in Karachi next week and win the mayor’s slot. “Karachi has the highest level of political awareness in the country and I’m sure it won’t vote for a party like the PPP and its ‘bandit rule’,” he added.

The PTI chief said he would visit every district of Sindh after the march in order to bring about the PPP’s demise.

He also predicted an end of the “impo­rted government” in Islamabad after the by-election as the “national mood” was crying out for a “structural change”.

“Let me make it very clear to Karachi and people across Pakistan,” he said. “This [Sunday’s by-elections] are not just a simple election. It’s a referendum.

“It will decide the fate of this country. It will set the course of the future of your children. You have to come out of your homes and give your verdict against this imported government.”

After postponements of his rallies in July and August, the city by the sea finally saw the first public appearance of the former prime minister since April, when he had addressed a rally in Bagh-i-Jinnah a week after his ouster.

Criticism of PML-N

The PTI chief showed multiple video clips of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz to strengthen his argument against the ruling party.

He claimed it was a “decisive moment” in history and warned that if the leaders of the ruling party, “who are thieves:, succeeded in dodging the law, the country would suffer an irreparable loss.

Recalling the recent exoneration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and son Hamza Shehbaz in a money laundering case, he said former premier Nawaz Sharif and ex-president Asif Ali Zardari would benefit from the “NRO-11” – the term he has coined for what he calls “a deal between corrupt politicians and state institutions”.

Unlike his speeches at previous rallies, the PTI chief launched a scathing attack on the PPP and Asif Zardari. “The mafia ruling Sindh is impeding development in Sindh by exploiting resources for its vested interests. But his [Zardari’s] time is over now,” he said to the roars of an impassioned crowd.

“Let me get over with this march [in Islamabad], Then I shall visit each district of Sindh, including Karachi. I will rally people against this injustice.

“And let me tell you that people in rural Sindh are ready for real freedom. I pledge to do my best to help my brothers break the chains of slavery at the hands of Zardari mafia.”

Earlier during the day, the PTI chief addressed the Karachi Bar Association and candidates of his party contesting for the Oct 23 local bodies’ polls in the city.

In his address to the party’s candidates, he asked them to launch a “massive and aggressive campaign” for the general election.

“I want you to knock at every door in Karachi,” he advised workers.

“Tell them about real freedom. I assure you that you would find the majority of Karachiites with you. You are going to win these local bodies’ elections and Karachi will have a mayor from PTI,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2022