Shah Mehmood Qureshi joins Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf

Former Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi joined cricketer turned politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party, giving it a boost in the run-up to the general election scheduled for 2013.

Mr Qureshi, who recently left the ruler Party (PPP) after being disposed of at the beginning of this year, said a meeting of about 30,000 people in Gotki, in southern Sindh that he would be part of the movement of Khan to bring far-reaching changes.

"Imran Khan Sahab, starting today that Shah Mahmood is part of your team," Qureshi said as the crowd applauded.

The speech of Qureshi, the guardian of one of the most influential sufi shrines in Punjab, was peppered with spiritual slogans and religious analogies.

At one point, Qureshi compared himself to the 10th century Muslim ruler Mahmud of Ghazni, comparing his campaign against the PPP Government-led to a movement of "destroying the Temple of Somnath".

Mr Qureshi compared PPP Chief and President Asif Ali Zardari to the Pharaohs of Egypt, saying he had tried to prevent the achievement of the rally at Gotki.

Since Mr Qureshi quit the PPP and the previous Parliament this month, he attacked repeatedly Zardari and other leaders of the PPP, blaming them for not having to face such problems as corruption, bad governance, rising prices and crippling power cuts.

During his speech, Mr Qureshi called Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani "thieves" and asked the people to get rid of the Government.

"There is talk of change because people are disappointed by the Government of Zardari and Gilani ... It is time to ward off these thieves and confront them? "he asked.