Leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Awami Muslim League (AML) are sharing a stage at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi, where a large number supporters have turned up on the call of Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid for an "Azadi jalsa".
PTI chief Imran Khan and AML head Sheikh Rashid can be seen on stage along with other leaders, while the ground appears filled to capacity despite a downpour that has been lashing the city since the evening.
Khan, addressing the crowd at Liaquat Bagh after six years, praised Sheikh Rashid for "waging a jihad against corruption and political mafia for the last nine years."
"For three years, Nawaz Sharif has been controlling all the institutions; this was the first time, that he wasn't able to control the joint investigation team or the Supreme Court — that is why he [Nawaz] is calling it [his disqualification] a conspiracy," thundered Khan. "This is not a conspiracy, this is naya Pakistan."
Throwing his support behind the judiciary, Khan said that this "is the era of social media", and women and the youth are more vigilant than before. "The nation will stand by the Supreme Court if needed."
He alleged that only two types of people were supporting Sharif; those whose interests were associated with him and those who were misled by him.
"Nawaz Sharif was expelled after a due judicial process, yet he says that the honour of [people's] vote is at stake," said Khan.
The PTI chief criticised the proposal to eliminate Articles 62 and 63 from the Constitution, warning of massive agitation in Islamabad if a "conspiracy" was hatched against the Constitution.
Calling the GT Road rally a "drama", Khan said that it was undertaken to pressurise the Supreme Court and the National Accountability Bureau.
Khan proposed a four-point agenda to establish a new Pakistan. "Jihad against poverty, merit, accountability, and environment-friendly measures will provide the basis for a new Pakistan," he said in his speech.
PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi started his speech by asking, "What am I guilty of?", taking a jibe at former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. In nearly all of Sharif's speeches that he delivered on his way to Lahore from Islamabad, he demanded to know the reason for his disqualification. "Someone tell me, why was I deposed?" he had asked, repeating the question frequently during his four-day GT Road rally last week.
Answering the question, Qureshi said that Nawaz was disqualified because he fooled and mislead the nation, and plundered the national exchequer.
"Nawaz Sharif talks about honouring the mandate; [he should know that] transparent elections guarantee the honour of the mandate," said Qureshi. He asked the crowd to join him in creating a new Pakistan under the leadership of PTI chief Imran Khan.
Speaking to the crowd, PTI leader Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar praised the Supreme Court and the Pakistan Army, calling the two institutions credible. "Rest [of the institutions] have been compromised because their heads are appointed by the government," he said.
Ahead of the gathering, the PTI started distributing pamphlets, titled "We will tell you why you were disqualified", via a private helicopter at Liaquat Bagh and nearby areas.
Earlier, Zahid Kazmi, PTI district president, had claimed that Rawalpindi was the PTI’s fort "which will be proved on August 13." He explained that Imran Khan had not announced his plan for coming to Rawalpindi to celebrate Independence Day which is why a separate rally was being planned.
AML President Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had expressed hope for the success of his public meeting, saying that the basic aim of the public meeting was to highlight the corruption of the ruling elites. “Panama Papers leaks exposed the ruling elites and time has come to get the answer from them about the illegal money transferred abroad,” he had said.
