Sacramento State Capitol PTI Rally Joins Worldwide Call by Imran Khan
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The western steps of the California State Capitol building saw a gathering of around 300 protesters on Sunday, November 24, 2024, as a beautiful afternoon greeted them while they answered the final call of the incarcerated Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for a worldwide protest for the repeal of the 26 th Amendment to the Pakistani Constitution, the return of the PTI mandate, and his release amongst others.
Pakistani Americans, especially PTI supporters here, had become less enthusiastic about holding large rallies recently as fatigue appeared to have set in their ranks. But this gathering at the Capitol building steps in Sacramento proved that it was not the case, and the call from Imran Khan had rejuvenated their enthusiasm.
The 1-3 PM protest was jointly coordinated by the PTI Chapters in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area but there was also participation from individuals from further away, from Fresno in the south to Chico in the north of our state. The Lodi-Stockton community was also well represented here.
The main organizers of the event included Dr Aliya, Uzma and Javaid in Sacramento, and Sajjad from the Bay Area. One other fact should not be overlooked. The participants were not exclusively PTI or Imran Khan supporters, but other Pakistani-origin people (and Indian Muslims) who also participated because they were extremely concerned about the situation back there.
Dr Aliya was the event emcee. The formalities began with Abdullah presenting the Qur’an recitation along with the English translation of the verses. Official speeches on behalf of PTI chapters were presented by Farooq Azhar, Sajjad Ahmad, and Javaid Akhtar. Plus, there was an open mike session during which Shak Khan, Rana Shahid Manzoor (ex-Vice President PTI Gujranwala), Malak Hayat, Adil, Dr Hassan Tohid, IsTafa Zaidi, Kashif Wasim, Dr Firdous, Nazeer Janjua, Sohail Shahzad, Nadim and others were given a chance to express their views.
An array of opinions was expressed in the speeches, some quite emotional and others pragmatic and balanced. There was one former MQM supporter who said that he now supports Imran Khan because of ideological reasons. A local Indian Muslim activist lamented why there was not a larger crowd of Pakistanis showing their support at this rally. Another expressed sadness that Pakistan and Pakistanis are perceived as always asking for money at the international level, especially from the IMF, and that we need to change that perception.
And then there were several diehard PTI and Imran Khan followers who not only chanted slogans but also expressed their displeasure at the current regime in Pakistan and renewed their demand that their leader be released immediately since all the charges against him were trumped up. In addition to that demand, they expressed the view that Imran Khan was the last hope for Pakistan, and he alone had the leadership traits and the mandate to change the direction of the country for the better.
It must be noted that people young and old with a significant number of women attended this rally along with children. The credit goes to the PTI under Imran Khan’s leadership that various segments of Pakistan American society, the left-leaning liberals and the more conservative bearded believers, women wearing the hijab and Western clothes, all attended this protest to demonstrate their solidarity. It is always good to witness such a unity of purpose from such a diverse group which incidentally represented all the major ethnic groups of Pakistan.
The formalities ended with the entire group of participants singing the Pakistani national anthem. The protest finally morphed into a car rally with several vehicles flying Pakistani and PTI flags and driving as a group past the state capitol and through downtown Sacramento.
