8:28 PM
Imran heralds Change with PTI's successful rally
Last Updated On 30 October,2011 About 27 minutes ago
Imran Khan says change has begun in the country with PTI's successful rally at Minar-e-Pakistan.
The PTI puts up a huge rally Sunday at Minar-e-Pakistan as a reflection of Imran Khan s growing popularity.
Addressing the gathering, Imran said change has started as the Lahoris have risen for their right as they had done at the start of the movement of Pakistan. Naming his political opponents, precisely PPP s Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N s Sharif brothers, Imran Khan said that his party seeks all politicians to declare their arrests. He said the PTI would start civil disobedience movement if the assests were not declared.
Imran also touched on the thorny issues such as justice in society, saying he would ensure that the poor people in the villages are not subjected to discrimination at the hands of influentials and their small pieces of lands are not occupied, with generally a little or no justice from the slow judicial system.
He said that the Baloch youth would be brought in the national stream after talks with their representatives. He said Pakistan is a rich country, with huge coal and mineral reserves. He said that the corrupt rulers do no want to tap the resources because they always look for own kickbacks in every deal. Imran said his party would strenghthen friendship with China and through effective utilisation of resources, would overcome all the problems, including loadshedding and rampant corruption.
Imran Khan, who is known for taking risk in cricket matches, also took risk in political power show by placing 40000 chairs in the ground. However, all of the chairs were taken as the gathering swelled past 100,000 mark, according to estimates.
Most of Imran s followers are the youth who have now attained the age of voting, though they had been adoring him since the days of his play on the cricket ground. Imran s unblemished character and charisma are propelling his popularity while the other leading parties have exhausted their chances by being in power for multiple times but without a change in the fate of the masses. Imran promises to deliver the youth the Pakistan the Quaid-e-Azam dreamed of -- a Pakistan free of corruption and foul play.
Dancing to a drumbeat and waving the party s red and green flags, supporters of Khan s Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) filled the sprawling Minar-e-Pakistan ground which was ringed with tight security.
"Who will save Pakistan? Imran Khan, Imran Khan," the crowd chanted.
More than 100,000 people had gathered as the meeting began at 4pm with more on the way.
Khan s party slogan is "throw this government out and save the country," in a campaign aimed at the ruling coalition led by Zardari and the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Khan, who guided Pakistan a World Cup win 1992, brims with confidence that he can solve Pakistan s myriad and devastating problems.
But his party has no seats in parliament and it is criticised for lacking grassroots support and the infrastructure needed to win an election.
The rally, seen as a show of strength, comes two days after Nawaz Sharif s brother Shahbaz, attracted some 30,000 people at an anti-Zardari protest also in the key political battleground of Lahore.
The venue for Khan s public meeting was bedecked with banners and hoardings showing portraits of the former cricketer and the founder of the nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Tehreek-e-Insaf Secretary General Arif Ali said Khan "will make important announcements regarding the country s politics and future course of action."
"The wind of change has started in the country and anyone coming in its way would be eliminated," Alvi said and added "Tehreek-e-Insaf wants the rule of people constitution and law in the country."
"It is going to be historic. We have our supporters and voters coming from Lahore and its suburban areas and the expected gathering would be over 100,000 people," Malik Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, a member of the party s organising committee said.
Lahore, with a population of eight million, is Pakistan s second-biggest city and the capital of the most populous province Punjab, which commands the greatest number of seats in the national assembly or lower house of parliament.
That makes it bitterly contested territory where opposition leaders are targeting the unpopular Zardari.
Senior police official Ghulam Mahmood Dogar told reporters that all steps had been taken to provide "fool-proof" security at the public meeting.
LAHORE: Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan addressing thousands of supporters at Minar-e-Pakistan on Sunday warned that his party would spearhead a civil disobedience campaign and seize all the cities if the government failed to have politicians declare their assets.
