KARACHI: The PTI on Thursday announced that it would hold a public rally on Shahrah-i-Quaideen in Karachi on Sept 6, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is scheduled to begin a four-day visit to Sindh on Sept 3 along with the party’s central leadership.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh said Afridi and the party’s central leadership would enter Sindh on Sept 3. The delegation would receive a major welcome at Kamoon Shaheed at 11am before travelling to different cities across the province, he said.

“The delegation, led by CM Afridi, will travel from Jacobabad to Naushehro Feroze on Sept 4, proceed from Naushehro Feroze to Hyderabad on Sept 5 and reach Karachi on Sept 6,” he announced.

Sheikh added that large gatherings linked to the party’s street movement would also be held in different cities during the tour.

“A major rally will be held on Shahrah-i-Quaideen in Karachi on Sept 6,” Sheikh said, expressing hope that the authorities would grant permission for the event. “Even if permission is not granted, there will be a rally in Karachi,” he asserted.

He said Sept 6 was Defence Day and that the PTI would speak about the defence of Pakistan and the rights of its people.

Speaking at the same press conference, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the PTI would also observe Sept 27 as Democracy Day and protest for the release of party founder Imran Khan, and called on people to continue raising their voices for their rights.

“This is not a battle for one day; it is a question of the future of the entire nation,” he said.

Raja said the country’s poor had expressed themselves through their votes, but their mandate had been “stolen”. He claimed millions of Pakistanis had voted for Imran on Feb 8, 2024, in the hope of determining their future, but their mandate was subsequently denied.

He also claimed that PTI candidates had won 21 of the 22 National Assembly seats in Karachi, while seats won by the party in Lahore and elsewhere had also been “taken away”.

Referring to reports of electoral irregularities, he alleged that the elections were marred by “worst rigging” and that candidates rejected by voters were subsequently imposed on them.

PTI Secretary General Raja said Pakistan had effectively developed two separate systems — one for the rich and another for the poor — and that the deaths of 14 newborn babies at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) had exposed the failure of a system that did not adequately protect the disadvantaged.

Expressing grief over the infants’ deaths, Raja said the tragedy had raised serious questions about the state of public healthcare. “A committee comprising those responsible has been formed, but the question is: where is the country heading?” he said.

He warned that a tragedy of this nature could occur anywhere in the country. Referring to claims that “the system had failed”, he asked which system had actually failed. “We need to fix the system that supports the poor,” he said.

Raja also said around 25 million children in Pakistan were currently out of school and that the country was wasting their potential. “Poor children are not receiving the education they deserve,” he said, adding that Pakistan had developed a degree of social and educational segregation rarely seen elsewhere, including Bangladesh.

“Pims tragedy is another manifestation of this inequality, as wealthy families generally do not depend on basic health units while poor people have no alternative,” he said.

Raja claimed that around 40 per cent of children in the country were behind in mental development for their age, leaving them disadvantaged throughout their lives.

“Imran Khan’s message is about the poor. He talks about equal education and opportunities for children of the rich and poor,” he said.

The PTI leader also alleged that people who raised their voices were being picked up, while journalists who spoke the truth were being removed from their organisations. “Journalists who used to raise their voice for the truth are unemployed today,” he said.

He said democracy had never been allowed to fully flourish in Pakistan and questioned whether the creation of new provinces would resolve the country’s political problems. Islamabad, he noted, was a small city, yet its hospitals and education system were also facing serious difficulties.

Raja further said any decision to create new provinces or alter the existing provincial structure should be taken by the people through an assembly representing their genuine mandate. He called for strengthening the local government system and devolving powers to the grassroots.

“Everyone knows how the mayor was made in Karachi,” he said, adding that no system could function if people continued to be deprived of their electoral rights.

Raja also alleged that PTI’s votes had been “stolen” in Karachi’s local government elections.

He urged people to come out and make their voices heard, assuring them that the PTI leadership would remain at the forefront of the struggle. “If 250 million people come out of their homes and onto the streets, this system will collapse,” he said.