PTI ready to up the ante with tsunami plus
Hundreds and thousands of PTI workers and supporters are going to throng Minar-e-Pakistan on March 23 to support the “tsunami” for change against the traditional system of power politics, a passionate Imran Khan said on Friday.
During a media talk before the PTI grand show could be termed a second coming for the party, Khan expected a crowd of more than 500,000 expressing their will against the old-guard.
“The party has devised an entire system of governance to reform the existing system which has led to corruption due to political interference. The new Pakistan will have institutions independent of political influence and sinking ships like PIA and WAPDA will become profit making efficient organisations,” Khan said.
He termed the intra-party elections a historic step, but said they came at a heavy cost of rifts within the party. “This led to a decline in the party’s popularity that was interpreted by the opponents as fading away of the tsunami.”
“Those who doubted the strength of tsunami will know tomorrow as we have passed through that uncomfortable phase and now all leadership has been refined through the elections and there is no distinction between the old and new,” he said. Khan added that the tsunami show on Saturday had scared traditional political players.
To questions on funding for the rally, Khan said the money was coming from the ranks and file on the PTI. He said his party would not throw away tax payers’ money and announced that the party would soon start a ‘New Pakistan Fund’ for campaign and electioneering.
Khan hinted at the ongoing talks with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Nawab Salahuddin of Bahawalpur and Sheikh Rasheed for seat adjustment in the upcoming elections, “but things are tentative and nothing can be said for sure right now”.
The PTI chief reiterated his criticism of the Punjab regime for not letting go of power and keeping the decision-making with the chief minister.
To a question on foreign policy, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said India was our neighbor and an important player in the region and “we cannot wish it away”, adding that peace and stability was necessary in the region.
Imran Khan appreciated the IP gas project, but doubted the “sincerity” of President Asif Zardari who waited for five years for reasons “best known to him” before finally inking the deal.
Independent analysts however sniff funding from “hidden” sources for such a grand procession which include logistics, food and all other arrangements. Khan however said the entire money is coming from the rank and file of the party, with “workers even paying for food at political luncheons”.
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