The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is set to organise a major demonstration of public power at Mazar-e-Quaid on the arrival of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi, who is on a three-day visit to Karachi as part of a mobilisation campaign.
The party has, however, changed its scheduled plan of holding a public meeting at Bagh-e-Jinnah to holding a rally at Mazar-e-Quaid’s gates due to delayed permission received by the administration.
The PTI leadership is optimistic that there would be a magnificent demonstration of public power, and that Karachi would once again make history on Sunday (today).
Talking to the media, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh praised the city’s residents for their enthusiastic reception of Afridi to listen to party founder Imran Khan’s message, saying that the city continues to be a PTI stronghold.
Sheikh said the reception in the city was proud and historic, with party supporters greeting representatives of Khan with enthusiasm and commitment.
“On January 9 Karachi’s residents demonstrated their support for Imran Khan’s message. This proves that the city always has been, and will remain, Imran Khan’s stronghold. The people of Pakistan stand firmly with Imran Khan,” he stressed. He, however, criticised the provincial authorities for obstructing the PTI’s plans.
He said the provincial government offered protocol and security to the KP CM, but the PTI had clarified that it does not require official treatment but only seeks constitutional and political freedom to engage with the public.
He also said that the ongoing struggle against oppression has entered its final stages, and claimed that there will be a sea of people at the rally in the city in the evening today.
Party leaders said the PTI Karachi Division has finalised the preparations for the rally, adding that party activists and supporters from every town and union council of the city would participate in the rally with enthusiasm.
They said the rally would send a clear message of loyalty and struggle with Khan and also be a manifestation of public trust in Khan’s leadership. They also said the city’s people have united against inflation, unemployment, injustice and stolen mandates.
They further said the rally would be peaceful, organised and historic, hoping that a large number of youth and women would participate to support the party’s incarcerated founder.
PTI Sindh Vice President Rizwan Niazi said that preparations are under way for the party’s rally, and appealed to the nation for full participation.
The rally will be a memorable chapter in Karachi’s political history, he added, and urged Sindh’s people to participate and express solidarity with Khan. Karachi has always supported the truth, he stressed, and would also make history today.
PTI leader Mansoor Ahmed Sheikh pointed out that this rally is not just a gathering but a movement for public awareness.
Afridi had arrived in Karachi on Friday on a three-day visit to Sindh as part of the PTI’s street mobilisation movement to mark the anniversary of the allegedly fraudulent February 8 general elections.
