Of cricket bats and auctions: Karachi’s aunties and uncles drink chai and show support for PTI

The event was held at the house of businessman Faisal Vawda.

KARACHI: Designer bags and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf flags dangled on the arms of the women who flocked into a residence on Khayaban-e-Mujahid on Friday evening for an event organised by the PTI’s women wing.

The new party leaders, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Jahangir Tareen, as well as Shafqat Mehmood, accompanied party chief Imran Khan who was surrounded by a gaggle of women who were waiting to receive him.

While speaking to the media, he commented on the current political scenario and said that the “military should not have a role in politics”. He added that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s statement on Thursday on the presence of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan was irresponsible.

He first hinted at the rumour of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Javed Hashmi joining PTI by saying that “one party is sweating because of a huge hit they might face but we’ll tell you tomorrow.” When asked by a reporter if Hashmi was joining, Khan said, “I’m a cricketer, I’ve learnt that you shouldn’t play every ball. We’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Tareen also told The Express Tribune that he didn’t know about Hashmi joining but said that it would be a huge hit to the PML-N which would show that the “PML-N is crumbling.” Tareen said, “We welcome Javed Hashmi to PTI.” Qureshi told The Express Tribune that he didn’t know if the rumour was true but if it were, his addition would not cause issues in the Multan constituency.

Qureshi said “The PTI is cutting across all classes” and expects an “exuberant jalsa” in Karachi.

He said that there were talks ongoing with influential families in Sindh but he did not want to disclose any names himself. According to Qureshi, “The PTI is eroding every party – Pakistan Peoples Party, PML-N, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid and Awami National Party, you’ll see a lot of ANP people at the rally.” He said the plan after the rally would be to “hibernate for a couple of days” and develop a structure, media team etc.

The event, held at businessman Faisal Vawda’s residence, also had businessmen such as Arif Habib in attendance along with former hockey player Islahuddin as well as a host of socialites.

Khan thanked many of his supporters by name, laughingly pointing out that there were more women taking up key party positions than men, which must worry the male leaders. He said, “Everyone in Karachi has the same problems,” which needed to be solved since there was no governance in the country. He cited the examples of the events in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and protests in the Middle East to show how change was possible.

“Houses have been revolutionised,” Khan commented. “There are men who follow one party and their wives and children support PTI.”

Qureshi said that the time for “cribbing in drawing rooms was over.” Addressing the audience, which he called the “opinion makers and leaders of society”, he said the people of Pakistan have “given you a lot” and it was time to step up and contribute since PTI wanted to save Pakistan.

Tareen told The Express Tribune that he had joined the PTI because of his “programme of change” and that he has been “chosen by the people of Pakistan as a symbol of hope.”

According to Tareen, Karachi’s business community will make up its mind to support Khan based on his policies on the economy - such as for job creation - and they needed to sit down and discuss their issues and ideas with Khan.

Tareen, who had planned to launch his own ‘Clean Party’ before he abandoned the idea to join PTI, said he had done so because, “the objectives we had of bringing real change of doing politics - not only for power politics, but its meaningful delivery - are those that PTI has espoused. So instead of creating a ‘fourth option’, it was more viable to strengthen the PTI and bring a change.”

His view was echoed by Rana Naeem, former defence minister who supports PTI, “Khan’s chances of success are very high” since an environment had been created where people were looking for a symbol of hope and change.

The event was primarily a fundraiser and a meet-and-greet. It was reportedly a Rs5,000-a-plate event. Cricket bats were auctioned off, with the opening bid for the first one at Rs300,000.

Imran Khan also spoke at the Institute of Business Administration on Friday and made an appearance at the Pakistan Blog awards. He had other private engagements during the day and will be addressing the press on Saturday afternoon.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2011.