February 11, 2008	Monday	Safar 03, 1429

KASUR, Feb 10: A Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) candidate has exploited the Basant factor in kite capital and earned the favour of kite and twine traders in the city, Dawn has learnt.

A few days ago, Saddar police, in pursuance of a Supreme Court’s ruling against kite flying, cracked down on kite and twine traders, seized material from them and registered cases against Farzand, Akram, Abdullah, Saraj Din and Mahnee. Making most of the election season, traders contacted various candidates for their support. Kite manufacturers Sarwar, Bao Nanda Lal, Haji Saraj Din, Farzand, Shafi Factory Wala, Sharif, alias Kala, and Haider met PML-Q candidate for NA-139 Syeda Nelofur Mehdi who promised to help them.

A kite manufacturer seeking anonymity said Ms Nelofur also ensured the traders that she would ask a former chief minister to help abolish the ban on the Kasur Basant.

Most of the kite traders are from the Kamboh clan and voted for PPP candidate Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed in 2002 elections. But Mr Ahmed refused to help the traders, saying that their business was against the law.

Dawn learnt that a few days ago, B-Division police seized a truck carrying twine material near the Railway Crossing. Later, the police raided godowns of Akram, Saraj Din and Haider near Kali Pul and seized kite-related material from there.

When police were destroying the seized material, Ms Mehdi arrived there and ‘ordered’ the station house officer (SHO) to let the accused go and handover the seized material to them. The SHO initially refused to budge but a ‘mysterious call’ forced him to follow the ‘orders’ of the PML-Q candidate.

After this favour by Ms Mehdi, the kite traders replaced an election office of the PPP candidate at Chowk Kamboh, owned by twine trader Mian Farzand, with of Ms Mehdi.

Despite the visible favour by Ms Mehdi, some ‘careful’ traders have shifted their kite and twine manufacturing units — that are 110 in number with 350 labourers — from Fakeeriawala Road to Sheikh Bago village so that police do not action against them.

Dawn also learnt the business of kite manufacturing was at its peak in Basti Vanika, Bhasar Pura, Kot Maulvi Abdul Qadir and Mohalla Pir Bukhari after the assurance by Ms Mehdi that she would protect them against any police action. In these villages, women and children are engaged in the manufacturing of kites who earn Rs100 against 1,000 kites.

Political analysts say Ms Mehdi and Maqbool Sabir, also a PML-Q candidate for PP-177, have played well by favouring the kite traders. They say earlier these candidates were in a weak position against their rivals — Mr Ahmed of the PPP and Naeem Safdar of the PML-N.

In NA-139, a neck-to-neck competition was expected between PPP’s Chaudhry Manzoor and Mian Waseem of the PML-N but with the Kamboh clan’s support to the PML-Q candidate,

Ms Mehdi also stands chances to put up a good show in the election.

The Kamboh clan and other workers associated with the kite and twine manufacturing hold 2,000 to 2,500 votes.

When contacted, an assistant of Ms Mehdi said she was too busy in election meetings to attend telephone calls.