As elections near, Imran Khan promises to transform graft-prone Pakistan

Khan, who first entered politics in the 1990s, is riding a wave of support on the back of his anti-graft campaign, which ousted his main opponent Sharif from power last year over corruption charges

Imran Khan stepped onto a makeshift stage in a trash-ridden Karachi district at 1 am to address hundreds of supporters who’d been waiting for hours. His message: vote out the city’s rulers who have failed to provide jobs, education, sanitation and healthcare.

“This is the first opportunity to free yourselves -- they, despite taking turns for the last 30 years, couldn’t give you basic facilities,” Khan told the cheering crowd gathered on Wednesday in Pakistan’s financial capital of 15 million people that is beset with water shortages. His aim? “To make an Islamic welfare state out of Pakistan.”

On a chaotic two-day