Thousands of people gathered at Karachi’s Native Jetty bridge on Saturday to block a NATO supply route in response to a call by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan was not present on the occasion.
Responding to the call of the thousands of people, the PTI chief arrived several hours later. Sources following the developments on TV told this scribe the reasons for the delay were security related. “The greatest threat to peace and security and the biggest hurdle in the path to revolution is the heat,” they said, adding that the popular leader joined the protest as soon as the sun had set.
Strict security arrangements had been ensured against this threat with tent roofs for protesters who were more equal than others. “Now I know why Mahatma Gandhi didn’t wear clothes,” a less equal protester said.
Workers of religious parties joined the protests at night, after the threat from the sun had set.
A popular rock singer and other celebrities also joined the protest, but sat in on comfortable chairs on the stage – a move aimed at upholding their sovereignty. “They were provided with chairs in an effort to protect their sovereignty from direct contact with the ground,” an organiser told this scribe.
TV footage showed Imran Khan laying down on a sheet on the ground talking to reporters with his head on a pillow. He was flanked by a number of supporters without sheets or pillows. An organiser said only the PTI chief was allowed a pillow because of concerns that a pillow fight might break out and lead to untoward incidents. Sources said on condition of anonymity that this was not the first time Imran Khan had been found lying on the ground late on a Saturday night. “However, he has learned from his mistakes,” they said.
In his speech, Khan said US drone attacks on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan were the cause of terrorism in the country. Asked if there had been any terrorist attacks before the predator strikes began, the PTI leader pretended not to listen. In a similar argument, Khan said his hair had been falling because he was worried, and he was worried because his hair was falling. “Please do not forget to come again tomorrow,” Khan told the protesters at the end of his speech.
Leaders of his party said hundreds of thousands of innocent Pakistani civilians, including women and children, had been killed in the American drone attacks. The people killed in suicide and car bombings by the Taliban, Al Qaeda and affiliated groups were mostly terrorists, they said.
The schedule for the two-day sit-in to block the supply route was as follows.
Saturday 2pm-5pm: protest against America
5pm to 6pm: lunch at McDonalds
6pm to 9pm: continuous two-day sit in
9pm: end of day one of protest and reopening of the route
Sunday 6pm: Imran Khan’s speech
Monday morning: NATO transporters resume work as weekend ends
Late on Sunday, more than a dozen gunmen attacked a Naval base in Karachi. Defence experts were not immediately available for comment. Retired military officials began posting comments online by Monday morning. “Worst. Hangover. Ever,” one expert posted on his profile early on Monday.
A PTI leader said the raid had been orchestrated by America to divert attention from his party’s sit-in.
Earlier on Sunday, political and religious leaders had warned of US designs. They said the US was behind all terror attacks in Pakistan. Asked if in that case, withdrawing Islamabad’s support to Washington would worsen the attacks, a religious leader among the protesters reached for his shoe. This scribe escaped from the scene, citing security reasons.
The writer is a media critic and the News Editor, The Friday Times. He can be reached at harris@nyu.edu