KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan spoke to reporters at the Jinnah International Airport after campaigning for his party’s candidate Imran Ismail in NA-246.
The PTI chairman thanked the people of Karachi for the reception given to him, stating that it had exceeded his expectations.
Imran Khan welcomed Altaf Hussain’s statement saying that it had defused the tense situation
ByTICKER
April 09, 2015
KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan spoke to reporters at the Jinnah International Airport after campaigning for his party’s candidate Imran Ismail in NA-246.
The PTI chairman thanked the people of Karachi for the reception given to him, stating that it had exceeded his expectations.
Imran Khan welcomed Altaf Hussain’s statement saying that it had defused the tense situation in the constituency. “It was also nice that the Rabittaa Committee greeted us. We welcome all the decisions to defuse the situation”.
Speaking on the scuffle between PTI and MQM workers at Jinnah Ground, Khan said he did not want to think that MQM’s police was based on double-standards. “I hope these people were not in their control and I want the MQM to take strict police action against them. I don’t want what happened to repeat.”
Khan said this was a defining moment for MQM as people don’t want the politics of guns. “MQM needs to separate itself with people who believe in such a brand of politics”.
Khan spoke of his days playing cricket when Karachi was a city experiencing an economic boom and burst of tourism. “I believe that the time has come to make Karachi the city of lights once again.”
The PTI chairman termed an improvement in the security situation in Karachi as essential to economic growth. He further said that there needs to be a system of merit in Karachi and Pakistan. “The people of Karachi were concerned that they were not given jobs on the basis of merit”.
According to Imran Khan this and the coming year would be decisive for Pakistan as the judicial commission would ensure that the next elections would be free and fair. “The open hearing will show people what happened in the elections”.
“After the formation of judicial commission there will be real democracy in Pakistan. In the present system capable people cannot succeed. The judicial commission will be basis of Naya Pakistan,” Khan said.
When asked about the incident at Jinnah Ground and the PTI’s plans to hold a rally there, Khan replied: “Jinnah Ground is too small to hold a PTI rally”.
Khan added that he had told his workers to remain calm and not respond to any acts of violence. “I told my workers to remain calm as we seek to make a Naya (new) peaceful Pakistan”.
In a message to Altaf Hussain, Khan said the MQM chief should shun the politics of violence and stop dividing people. “My basic differences with Altaf Hussain are over the politics of guns and dividing people on the basis of ethnicities”.
Khan said the PTI would be holding a rally on April 19 in Karachi terming the presence of Army and Rangers during the by-election in NA-246 as essential.
Imran Khan’s wife Reham Khan spoke to reporters briefly and in response to a question of not receiving the gold set by the MQM replied: “There is no bigger gift to be called the nations bhabi (sister-in-law) and have a husband like Imran Khan”.
Rehman also urged women in Karachi to come out and vote for Imran Ismail.
