Promising ‘real democracy’: Imran Khan challenges the status quo

Azam Khan Swati announces to join PTI.

HARIPUR:

Challenging the status quo, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan vowed on Saturday that his party would bring about ‘real democracy’ in the country and empower people at the grassroots level.

Imran was addressing a public gathering at the residence of former district nazim Yousuf Ayub Khan, where the latter announced joining the PTI along with his supporters.

In his fiery speech, Imran called Pakistani political parties imperialists who, according to him, have deprived the common man of his basic democratic right to power because democracy has been defined as government by the people.

“The forces opposed to the rule of people are supporting the status quo,” he said, adding that the PTI would introduce a democratic system which ensures the participation of the common man in governance.

The decades-old system factually supporting the elements of status quo has made parliament ineffective to the level that its resolutions are not respected – case in point: drone strikes.

“What’s the point of this parliament when it can’t provide relief to the people?” Imran inquired, saying that the nation is spending Rs66,000 per minute on parliament.

The so-called democratic rulers don’t seem to care about the rulings of the apex court, and instead, point fingers at the superior judiciary in order to divert attention from their own corruption, Imran said, adding that the PTI would introduce a system that ensured relief for the downtrodden.

Khan also addressed a gathering at Ghazi tehsil of Haripur where Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s former MPA Faisal Zaman joined the PTI.

Meanwhile, former senator Azam Khan Swati, who recently resigned from the Senate and membership of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), on Saturday also joined PTI. Accompanied  by Imran Khan and  Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Quersh, he announced he would join the party at a news conference in Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2011.