KARACHI: Amid growing demand for rights of Karachi mainly from opposition parties in Sindh with their back-to-back rallies and power shows by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and Jamaat-i-Islami, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party on Friday announced that it would hold its own power show in district Central on Sunday (tomorrow) to “diminish hatred ignited by rival parties to create a rural-urban and ethnic divide in the province”.

PPP leaders said that their Oct 4 rally would negate the narrative of hatred in Sindh and bring people from all backgrounds together to give a clear message to “conspirators”.

“Those who are attempting to divide Sindh and create divisions among different ethnicities are warned that we will not let that happen,” Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani told a press conference here.

He was accompanied by general secretary of Sindh and Karachi PPP chapters Waqar Mehdi and Javed Nagori.

The ruling party’s rally will be held on Sunday from Ayesha Manzil in Central district

“The PPP is a non-violent party and we only go for peaceful and democratic way to respond against all the propaganda and hatred. The parties which have lost credibility and mandate in Karachi because of their history of violence and bloodshed are staging another dirty game to regain the ground through [fanning] ethnic hatred. They know that they can only win when the people start hating each other for their ethnic backgrounds,” he said.

Mr Ghani, who’s also the president of the PPP’s Karachi division, mainly criticised the MQM-P, accusing it of highlighting ethnicity and sense of deprivation among the people of urban Sindh only for political gains.

He said the Oct 4 “Karachi solidarity rally” would start from Ayesha Manzil on Sunday and end at M.A. Jinnah Road where leaders would address the participants.

When asked why the government party was holding a crowded rally when Covid-19 cases were increasing alarmingly, he said the party would try best to take all-out precautions during the rally, but called the objective of the event bigger than any other thing.

“We will try our best to make SOPs [standard operating procedures] be followed at the rally. But let me tell you that the hatred being spread by the MQM-P is more dangerous than any virus. We need to stop it now,” said Mr Ghani.

“We want to tell our Urdu-speaking Sindhi brothers and sisters that the way MQM has damaged their identity and social status in the past ... it would never happen again. The Urdu-speaking community is one of the most civilized and educated segments of our society. The PPP has a resolve to restore their identity,” he claimed.

MQM-P, PTI slam PPP govt performance

After the announcement of the rally by the PPP, both the MQM-P and PTI came up with a strong reaction, questioning the PPP’s governance that has been ruling Sindh for the past 12 years.

“The PPP is in a state of panic and anxiety after the MQM-P staged a successful power show raising voice [for] the people of Karachi,” said senior leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan in a statement.

“The PPP, which has been enjoying its rule through fake majority in Sindh for more than a decade, can no longer make people fools. Everyone knows how feudals of the PPP win elections in rural Sindh through violence and force. The PPP rally will face strong rejection from the people of Karachi,” he said.

PTI MPA and its Karachi division president Khurram Sher Zaman questioned the PPP’s proposed rally in Karachi and accused the ruling party of fanning ethnic hatred among the people of Sindh. He said the PPP itself was responsible for ethnic divide and hatred.

“The PPP has ruined Karachi and other parts of Sindh during the last 12 years. This party only believes in corruption. Since it has been exposed lately and anger among the people against the PPP is rising with each passing day, it has now started playing the ethnic card to save its ground,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2020