Pakistan’s Imran Khan draws another huge crowd to political rally

A rally in Karachi organized by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan drew a massive crowd of supporters Sunday, bolstering his image as a potent force in Pakistan’s turbulent political landscape.

Pakistani news reports estimated that as many as 100,000 supporters crammed into a field next to the iconic white marble mausoleum of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, on the anniversary of Jinnah’s birthday. Looking out on a sea of red and green flags for Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Khan told backers that, if his party came to power, he would ensure that the rule of law was applied evenly and would work to eradicate the taint of corruption found at every layer of Pakistani society.

“We will create a police force independent of political influence, based purely on merit,” Khan told the crowd. “When I am in government, one day they will even stop Imran Khan’s own car” for speeding.

“We will control corruption,” Khan continued. “God willing, we will end corruption in 90 days.”

The rally Sunday in the country’s largest city was at least as big as one Khan held Oct. 30 in Lahore, which surprised Pakistanis with its size. He has also drawn large crowds at rallies in other cities.

Once regarded as a fringe player in Pakistani politics, Khan is building formidable momentum at a time when the country’s ruling Pakistan People’s Party, led by President Asif Ali Zardari, is struggling for survival amid rumors that the powerful military could engineer an overthrow of the government.

Last week, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani decried the military as a “state within a state” and warned the country that conspiracies were afoot to carry out a coup against the government.

A day later, army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani dismissed talk of a coup, saying the army “has and will continue to support the democratic process in the country.”

On the same day, Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry said the high court would never endorse any unconstitutional government takeover. “There is no question of a [military] takeover, and rest assured that good times will come,” he said.

Driving the rumors of a coup is the military’s anger over the so-called Memogate scandal, which centers on allegations by Pakistani American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. He says then-Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani asked him to convey to the American government a memo seeking its help in preventing a military takeover of Zardari’s government in the wake of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May.

In return, the memo said, the Pakistani government would eliminate a wing of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency that maintains links with Afghan insurgent groups and give U.S. troops “a green light” to root out Afghan militants hiding in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Haqqani, who denies any involvement with the memo, was forced to resign, and the Supreme Court has taken up the case.

Khan, 59, a former cricket star, began his political career 15 years ago but was long unable to translate fame into votes. This year, however, he has steadily amassed support amid nationwide frustration with the PPP-led government’s inability to tackle crippling electricity and energy shortages and a stagnant economy.

He has attracted key figures from the country’s major political parties. The most notable defector is former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, once a PPP stalwart. On Friday, Javed Hashmi, a top figure in opposition leader Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N party, also said he was joining Khan’s party.

Analysts say they have yet to see signals that Khan’s momentum is large enough to propel him into power in national elections planned for 2013. Still, his surge in recent weeks is likely to transform him and his party into a major opposition force with meaningful representation in the parliament. His party does not hold a single seat in the country’s two legislative chambers.

alex.rodriguez@latimes.com