Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is struggling to retain its hold over one of its political bastion in the city, Lyari, as its many of die-hard supporters have alienated it for what they said 'sowing' unrest in the city's oldest area. Two key communities - Baloch and Katchi are the main victims of the decades' long unrest amid bomb blasts, gunfight, hatred and extortionism that engulfed the whole Lyari during the PPP rule starting in 2008.
Broken and unclean roads, water scarcity, unemployment, garbage heaps and an all-out uncertainty follow the worst ever violence in the area. Rangers though calmed down the worst situation that had caused hundreds of residents to flee Lyari, the big guns of violence are still at large.
Residents accuse the provincial PPP government for the 'uncontrollable' unrest, leaving hundreds of people dead and turning the youth either unemployed or gang workers as politically motivated onslaughts emerged. However, people now appreciate Rangers for establishing peace and ending the core fears of insecurity. The local bodies' polls that are scheduled for December 5 in the country's largest city has spouted many new groups mainly splinter ones from the PPP to contest independently. The submerging PPP influence has however provided a bigger space to the long struggling parties like Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to strengthen control in Lyari.
The former legislator, Nabeel Gabol, who opted to contest on the MQM ticket in 2013, has forged his independent group for the polls with all deviated candidates of the ruling PPP. Gabol, who remained absent from Lyari and banned by the gangsters to contest polls, is backing his group actively. Win in polls is likely to help pave way for the confident Gabol to rejoin the PPP.
The ruling PPP is contesting with its symbol 'arrow' in 32 wards out of 60 while in the rest its supporters are fighting the polls independently in the most uncertain situation. The reason behind a sizeable workers contesting election independently has been fears of attacks by the gang-war groups. It is expected that the independent candidates will rejoin the PPP after winning the polls.
The PPP provincial and national legislators elected from Lyari are out of the scene during the drive for polls. The PPP government's complete indifference towards the security and civic problems pushed the residents away from it and the public anger is visible in the UC 3, 4 and 5, which had been the worst-hit areas of the continuing violence.
The general perception about the PPP is poor. People accuse the PPP of many ills in the society like support to gang-war clans, drug peddlers and extortionists, besides dividing the politically aware and agile part of the country with hatred and violence. The elected representatives never paid attention on development of the area and betterment of the resident, as a majority of residents say.
Civic, education and social problems have grown up manifold since 2013 polls and the residents, who are faced with the continuing uncertainties, abhor the PPP government for its selfish attitude and creating ethnic divisions. Mountains of garbage are as up as in the past had been. They say the politicians have always lied to them for grabbing polls.
Since 1971, the PPP has been ruling Lyari but it never developed the area, which is far behind the well-educated and developed parts of the metropolis. At least 1350 people are lingering in the central jail and some 473 in children prison facing terrorism charges. Residents say there is not a single street in Lyari that had been spared from killings and bloodshed since 2008 till Rangers clampdown in 2015.
Using the youth for notorious agenda, residents say that the PPP virtually abandoned the people, who had either become a tool to the terrorism or victims of violence. Now, people, whose family members are in jails, have never been able to fight their cases in the court. The PPP is administratively a failure in Lyari with no officials in place to hear the public cries.
Population of the area has grown rapidly since 1980 but the number of civic officials to cater for the public amenities needs have reduced phenomenally. According to an estimate, population in each UC has surged from maximum 30,000 in 1980 to 60,000 in 2015 but the number of officials like sweepers have gone down to mere 13 from 80. The government bureaucracy is a stumbling block to improvement in civic infrastructure development.
There are also small areas like Bihar Colony where population is diverse with different ethnicities including Urdu speaking, Pashtun, Punjabis, Baloch and Katchi. Such diverse areas have been strongholds of the JI to win polls, attracting public with promises to deliver civic and healthcare amenities after assuming the mayorship of the city.
The JI has fielded its candidates in eight UCs for the local bodies' polls that include: UC 1 in Agra Taj, UC 2 in Hangorabad and Daryabad, UC 6 in Moosa Lane, UC 9 in Bihar Colony, UC 10 in Gulistan Colony, UC 11 in Rangiwara, UC 12 in Singo Lane and UC 15 in Nawa Lane. The JI has also forged alliance with Baloch and Katchi communities for the polls. In one ward, the JI has alliance with the ANP in Lyari.
No candidate from the MQM and a defunct Aman Committee are contesting in Lyari. However, a banned sectarian group is contesting. The MQM's strongholds had been UC1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 and had got six councillors elected during General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf regime. However, the MQM has fielded independent candidates on an electoral symbol of goat.
The PIT is contesting without any an alliance but having a deal with PPP in Lyari. The PTI enjoys support from the JI with its coalition in nearly 85 percent of the metropolis has widely emerged the key rival in Lyari. The PTI has almost all the former PPP supporters and followers as their candidates. PML-N is contesting from UC 1, UC 2, UC 8, UC 9, UC10, UC 11 and UC 12 with its own candidates. The JI, PTI, PML-N and independent candidates are making fast headways ahead of the polls to replace the struggling PPP in Lyari.
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