Islamabad: The big turn out at Imran Khan's rally in Karachi has cemented his status as a rising star in Pakistani politics and made his party a force to reckon with in the coming days, a leading English daily said on Monday.
Imran Khan had held a mammoth rally Oct 30 in Lahore and his next massive rally was held in Karachi Sunday.
An editorial in the News International Monday said after the Lahore rally it had asked: Is Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a jalopy or a juggernaut?
As hundreds of thousands poured into the grounds in Karachi Sunday and rallied in Imran's support, the answer to the question has become clearer: "Not only has Imran's status as a rising star in politics been cemented, his PTI will also be a force to reckon with in the coming days."
The editorial noted that after the Lahore rally, it was said that it would be weeks before we could properly assess the impact of the rally and months before the party's real prospects in the 2013 general elections became clear.
"But as the crowds came to cheer for Imran in Karachi, it could be reasonably said that the show of force and numbers in Lahore wasn't a one-off. What we are seeing is a trend of growing support for Imran and his party."
It, however, went on to say that at the Karachi rally, just like the Lahore one, the "big picture view was missing".
"We heard that Imran would do away with corruption in 90 days (!), computerise all land records, introduce a new labour policy, reform the civil services, strive for development in Balochistan, promote small farmers, and so on.
"But the question remained: exactly how will the PTI do this? It's a million-dollar question, one that the PTI cannot be said to have answered fully."
IANS
First Published: Monday, December 26, 2011, 13:23