The PTI Rally in Karachi Or Democracy Is Alive And Well In Pakistan But Not Really

I went to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally yesterday not because I’m a supporter but because I needed some inspiration. It’s been a tough year for Karachi with target killings and strikes reaching record highs in some months. It’s far too easy to be cynical because Karachi offers you a lot to be angry about and little to celebrate. There was, however, a lot to celebrate at the Mazar-e-Quaid yesterday.

The diversity, energy and will to change in the 150,000+ crowd were reasons enough to gladden the hearts of even the most hardened of skeptics. Without going into what this all means for Pakistan (because it is still quite wishy-washy and feel-good rhetoric), I’m going to share some of the photographs I took with my mediocre mobile phone camera along with some brief notes and observations.

I cannot stress enough how amazing it was that the people gathered there were from all kinds of classes, backgrounds and ideological leanings. From the very religious imams and tableegh jamaats to the working class, from the bankers to the businessmen from Dubai, from the students to the teachers, from the women to even some khwaja siras, it was truly the most impressive mix of Karachiites. This in a city that is so deeply divided and where political congregation is either exclusively MQM, exclusively Balochi or exclusively Jamati..

..and with that diversity comes all sorts of mini movements such as the Free Aafia Movement. As my friends Shaheryar Mirza and Arsalan Khan observed, however, this movement was not led by tableeghis, jamaatis or any of the ‘scary beards and burqas’. The people holding up placards were mostly beardless young(ish) men, presumably folks from Pasban-e-Pakistan (student wing of Jamat-e-Islami).

Another shot of the inqilaabi dudes makes me pause on the term inqilaab (revolution). I don’t want to piss on anyone’s aspirations and desires for change but Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Javed Hashmi, Jahangir Tareen and bordering-on-authoritarian Imran Khan do not represent grass-roots revolutionaries to me. It is far too top-down and domineering to be a liberating movement. The PTI has to be more transparent in its internal democratic processes and avoid propping up another one man fiefdom. While it has changed the political landscape for now, a revolution this isn’t. A helpful strategy would be to include more women and working class in powerful leadership positions.

Waiting for hours for the Messiah himself to show up and speak.

..Some more waiting. Seating was adequate for those who arrived early and most people were more than happy to give up their seats for women and the elderly.

How many times do you get to see really cute grandmas holding placards in Karachi that read “Zardari chor, jaan chhoR“? Lovely.

Another beautiful moment in the rally was when Imran Khan arrived and they released hundreds of red and green balloons in the clear Karachi skies.

A silent revelry as Salman Ahmad takes the stage to lip-sync Jazba-e-Junoon..

As the sun sets, the numbers increase exponentially. The PTI flag is aloft, the Pakistan flags are few and far between.

And some more assorted photos below:

Some final thoughts when I was leaving the rally:

- I dislike and distrust Shah Mehmood Qureshi. His feudal background and nationalist anger always made me uneasy but his lusty praise for Pakistan’s nuclear program and his dangerous refusal to sign a “No First Strike” deal with India makes me positively livid. Imran Khan will have to curb his ego and his war-mongering glee. I’m afraid it won’t be easy because Qureshi sees himself has above PTI and perhaps above Imran Khan as well.

- While Imran Khan as made peace with MQM at the moment, it does leave the latter in a precarious position. Whether this means a shift of power in Karachi remains to be seen but it will make a dent in ANP-MQM nexus.

- I don’t see how the PTI will make serious revisions in Pakistan’s fiscal budget. Concepts such as increasing taxation and foreign investment sound simple enough but will we ever see a cut in Pakistan’s defense budget? Will he be able to bring Pakistan’s military forces under the control of the elected government? Will he be affirm against this burgeoning anti-India right-wing rhetoric that has given our army orgasms for decades? The army question is ultimately the key question if Pakistan is to become serious about issues such as welfare, income inequality and job creation.

- I find PPP fans really irritating now. Saying Imran Khan copies Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto is nauseating. That was decades ago. Get over it. They were popular and charming and fucked up. Get over it. If I end up supporting PTI in the future and thirty years down the road I still treat Imran Khan like a Messiah who could have saved Pakistan, you all have the license to shoot me.

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As for me, I’ll probably still vote for the Pakistan Labour Party but that’s just me.

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