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Summary Chairman PTI Imran Khan has reached Quaid's mausoleum ground in Karachi to address rally.
The PTIs rally has formally started as main leadership of Tehreek-e-Insaf has taken their seats on the stage. Before the start of speeches by various leaders, fateha was offered for the soul of Quaid-e-Azam.The opening speech was delivered by Jehangir Tareen followed by Azam Swati. Imran Khan will address the rally after speeches by other leaders. Javed Hashmi, who has left PML-N to join PTI, has also reached the venue despite his ailment.Estimates put the number of rally participants at above 200,000 as all side of the ground have been occupied.As Pakistan wrestles with a political crisis, Imran Khan is drawing ever-bigger crowds in his bid to become premier, but analysts remain skeptical about the national cricket heros chances of winning.Khan, 59, leader of the opposition Movement for Justice Party, is hoping his anti-corruption ticket will draw voters to a rally in Karachi on Sunday, matching a massive turnout in October.In a crowd that shocked many observers, an October 30 rally in Lahore drew more than 100,000 supporters to hear Khan, whose national profile was cemented as the captain of the only Pakistani cricket team to clinch the World Cup.The 1992 victory has helped propel Khan toward becoming the troubled nations next Prime Minister as he leads an anti-graft revolution, with some politicians having already left their own parties to join Khans camp.Among the defectors is former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who left the ruling Pakistan Peoples’ Party, led by embattled President Asif Ali Zardari.On the streets, Khans talk of clean government and cracking down on graft has won him supporters, including Karachi cigarette-seller Merajuddin.Imran Khan seems like an honest guy. I want him to become prime minister, the 52-year-old said.Adam Ali, a policeman in Pakistans biggest city, said corruption runs rampant through the political elite, giving Khan a shot at grabbing power.All other political parties are corrupted, he told AFP, adding that Khan was the right guy for the job.However, some say Khan and his partys emergence from the political wilderness is due to covert support from Pakistans military, which has staged three coups and is seen as the nations chief arbiter of power.Khan has denied the claims.(But) he is talking against India and about making friendships with the Taliban -- these are the basics of the armys politics, said Khan from the Federal Urdu University.He is only there to help the army to demolish the current government.However Arif Alvi, secretary-general of Khans party, dismissed claims the cricketers rise is due to the military, adding the army can give money or ask people to join us. But it cant by itself make Imran Khan so popular.Khans party has tapped social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to reach the all-important 18-30 age group, which represents about one-quarter of Pakistans population of 174 million -- and more than the usual voting pool.Nearly 600,000 people have joined Khans party in recent months by sending a text on their mobile phone.Alvi, who predicted Khan and the party will emerge victorious in polls scheduled for 2013, said Sundays crowd would likely top 100,000 though most observers estimated 20,000 to 40,000 since Karachi is not a Khan stronghold.He appeals to the urban youth, but they dont vote, said Shahi Syed, leader of the Awami National Party.(Khan) can be a caretaker prime minister for the army, but not an elected prime minister.Still, the sporting heros chances rely most on striking alliances with powerful politicians who hold sway over the countryside, said university professor Khan.To win elections in Pakistan you need alliances in every province.Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf workers had placed 60,000 chairs in the ground of the Quaid’s mausoleum, while the city of Karachi has been decorated with colourful banners and party flags in every nook and cranny. The chairs were taken within a short time from the start of the rally.Lights and clourful buntings have been placed in and around the ground. Party camps have also been set up at various points in the city.The PTI women workers say that Imran Khan is the only hope of the people of Pakistan in the coming elections.
