PAKISTAN Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan walks up to the stage to kickstart his election campaign in Mianwali as the crowd waits eagerly on Sunday.—Murtaza Ali/White Star
When asked to share his thoughts on the PTI protesters demanding redistribution of tickets outside Banigala, Amir said, “They are not from Mianwali. They are from Multan. I’m not so upset with Imran that I will leave him if he doesn’t give me a ticket.”
Another local leader Jamal Ahsan Khan said he too is disappointed about not being awarded a ticket. “I bagged 32,000 votes for PP-43 in the last election but I was not awarded a ticket this time,” he said. “The PTI candidate who was awarded the ticket instead is my worst enemy, but still I am here for Imran Khan. He is the son of the soil.”
Moments before Khan took the stage, PTI leaders took the microphone one by one and reminded the crowd how important Mianwali is in Khan’s success story.
“You were the first to recognise Imran Khan, don’t forget that!” chanted one leader.
As Khan made his entrance around 6pm, the crowd went wild. Chants of “Prime Minister Imran Khan” echoed through the stadium. It was difficult to tell how Khan felt at that moment. He took a seat next to party leaders on stage and smiled every few minutes, not speaking much, but shaking hands with excited members of his party.
After the rally, a dinner was hosted in Khan’s honour by his cousin and head of security Ahmed Khan Niazi. At his uncle’s home, Khan and senior party leaders were served lamb (dumba) roast, salted beef (namkeen gosht), mutton pakoras, desi murghi, mutton biryani and Kalabaghi halwa.
Soon after, Khan sped off to PAF Base M.M. Alam to board a private jet for Islamabad to prepare for his next rally.
By this time, the stadium had cleared out and PTI supporters — some of whom had listened to Khan’s speech from the rooftops of nearby shops — were making their way home and chanting: “This time, the prime minister will be from Mianwali.”
Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2018