Political heat rises in Karachi as three parties hold rallies

As mercury has been surging these days in Karachi so is the political temperature. When most residents of the city choose to stay indoors to avoid the scorching sun, three major political parties brave the heat to hold rallies in the city to show their power.

After the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf held rallies in the city on Saturday and Sunday respectively, it is now the turn of the Pakistan Peoples Party that is going to show its strength tomorrow (Wednesday) on the occasion of Labour Day. The city seems filled with flags and banners of the three political parties.

MQM-P’s unimpressive show

Although independent analysts believe that the MQM-P’s show in Bagh-e-Jinnah was not so impressive compared to the party’s past performances, the party leaders are satisfied with their rally and the number of participants in it.

The MQM-P is still struggling to overcome the turmoil that beset it after it split away from the party’s founder Altaf Hussain, which was followed by some of its central leaders defecting to the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) and the worst defeat of its electoral history in the 2018 general elections.

“It is a satisfactory show for us when we are in a crisis, facing a shortage of funds and closure of offices,” said an MQM-P coordination committee member. He added that the MQM-P was still a potent and the only political force in the Mohajir population.

Through Saturday’s gathering, the MQM-P again swung into Karachi’s politics by advocating struggle for a separate province and using ‘Mohajir’ card.

Messy PTI event

The PTI’s rally on its 23rd Foundation Day held in a playground in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area on Sunday was marred by clashes, mismanagement, and chaos.

Although the PTI managed to win the most of the National Assembly and the Sindh Assembly seats from Karachi, the party has been facing internal differences and the party’s central leadership, especially supremo Imran Khan, has failed to resolve them.

The rift within the party was again clearly shown on the party’s Sunday gathering. First, the party failed to bring a significant number of its members and supporters in the rally to mark the party’s 23rd Foundation Day.

However, this was just the start of the messy event as later during the occasion, two rival groups within the PTI exchanged punches and threw chairs and stones at one another. The chaos erupted after some party workers tried to stop Haleem Adil Shaikh, the party’s parliamentary leader in the Sindh Assembly, from making a speech.

The disgruntled workers chanted ‘Go Shaikh Go’ as the party leader took the stage. Later, the rally had to be called off after various groups engaged in a physical fight at the event.

Shaikh has also been serving as the PTI Sindh president since last month. Accepting the resignation of Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto from the office of the PTI’s Sindh president, the central leaders of the party gave Shaikh, who was serving as the party’s secretary general in the province, the responsibility of heading the party’s provincial chapter temporarily.

According to a statement issued by the party, PTI Chief Organiser Saifullah Khan Niazi took notice of the turmoil in the party’s rally.

“The party leaders have been collecting video and pictorial evidence and will take strict action against those who disturbed the party’s event,” the party’s spokesperson told The News.

Ambitious PPP

Although the PPP’s support is mainly concentrated in the city’s rural areas inhabited by Sindhi and Baloch population as evident by the results of the 2018 general polls, the party is making efforts to show its strength on Wednesday in District Malir’s Dawood Chorangi area, following the MQM-P’s ‘unimpressive’ and the PTI’s ‘chaotic’ rallies.

The PPP has intelligently chosen Landhi Industrial Area of District Malir, a district comprising rural and coastal areas, from where the party has won two National Assembly and two Sindh Assembly seats.

The party has also been ruling the District Municipal Cooperation Malir and the District Council.

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is likely to address the rally. The party’s provincial leadership and cabinet ministers have also visited the area several times and asked the leadership of all districts and sister organisations to make the rally successful by bringing more people.