KARACHI: Taking advantage of the city’s political situation shortly after the Senate elections, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan rushed to the metropolis on Sunday and announced that he would contest the general elections from Karachi.

Mr Khan, who arrived here on a two-day whirlwind tour, made this declaration while speaking at party membership camps set up in different areas as well as at the party workers’ convention and a doctors’ forum that he addressed soon after his arrival.

He said that if the next prime minister was not elected from Karachi neither the city could progress nor improvement in the overall governance was possible. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had failed to deliver despite forming governments repeatedly one after the other. He said the PTI managed to break the partnership of Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif.

Citing example of Khyber Bank, the PTI chief said its performance was visibly improved after being operated on a merit basis while declaring that after coming to power, his party would get political interference in institutions stopped to improve their working.

PTI chief to contest election from Karachi

Opposing privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines, he announced that his party would continue to resist the government move. He said PIA could not be privatised as only three months were left with the government. He said the system could not improve until corruption was eliminated and peace and prosperity was restored.

Speaking at the PTI camp in Liaquatabad, Mr Khan announced contesting election from Karachi and said institutions had to be depoliticised before improving the governance and setting the metropolis in order. The system had its effect on politics, he added.

He said the people of Karachi were well aware that there was no use of getting divided. “We will bring them together,” the PTI chief declared.

He said he wanted to improve police system in Sindh where the law enforcers were “deployed to protect thieves”. He alleged that suspended SSP Rao Anwar had killed more than 400 youngsters in Karachi. He vowed to introduce a legislation like the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Act in Sindh if elected to power.

Addressing party supporters in Baldia Town, Mr Khan said that the PTI would have to win the 2018 elections to turn the people from Karachi to Khyber into one nation by bringing closer all nationalities of the country. He said he was also aware of the issues being faced by the people in getting their computerised national identity cards and pledged to solve it.

“New Pakistan means to change the system of governance,” he said while addressing young people in Saeedabad. He said people were quite concerned over the increasing prices of petroleum. “We would expose the people behind this unjustified increase and take them to task,” he declared.

Earlier speaking to PIA employees at the airport, Mr Khan said the PTI would stop political interference in the airline to improve its performance. He said how it was possible that steel mills of the Sharif brothers in Jeddah was making profits in billions while the Pakistan Steel was on the verge of closure due to losses.

Addressing the Insaf Doctors’ Forum, Mr Khan said all policies were being framed for the rich. He said the cancer treatment was beyond the reach of common man. However, he said, 75 per cent patients were getting treatment free of charge at the Shaukat Khanum hospital.

He also talked about the local bodies system and pollution and health issues and vowed to resolve them if voted to power. He said water being supplied in Karachi was extremely polluted and while tankers’ mafia was operating freely in the city. Similar mafia men were sitting in every institution, he said, adding that the situation in Lahore was not different from Karachi.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2018