KARACHI, Oct 5: The combined might of politico-religious parties and well-entrenched ethnic groups is likely to give the Muttahida Qaumi Movement a very tough time in NA-247.

This constituency, which has more than 275,000 registered voters, has been witnessing intense electioneering for quite some time as religious parties, particularly the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal which is a conglomerate of religious and political parties, have realized that they could make inroads into the Muttahida stronghold if they held the ethnic party to its dismal human- rights track record.

The Muttahida’s candidate for NA-247, Israr-ul-Ebad Khan, is a new entrant in the field of elections despite the fact that he has been actively involved in the Muttahida for a long time. His claim to fame is that he is an elder brother of Muttahida leader Ishrat-ul-Ebad.

Hafiz Mohammad Taqi of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal is a veteran politician who has been contesting election on this seat for years. He is not only president of the Karachi chapter of the Jamiat Ulema Pakistan but also president of the Karachi chapter of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

Syed Masood Hussain of the People’s Party Parliamentarians has been making his presence felt in the area by holding public meetings. Nadir Ali Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and Mohammad Farhat Hussain of the Sunni Tehrik are also in the electoral fray.

Visits to several areas of Nazimabad and Liaquatabad on Monday and Tuesday showed that as far as flags were concerned, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal were in fierce competition. The same goes for public meetings as well. The Mohajir Qaumi Movement has also a candidate in this constituency despite the fact that the candidate is a resident of Landhi.

Political analysts point out that in some pockets of Nazimabad and adjoining areas, there is a sizable population of the Pashtuns — more than 6,000 at a conservative estimate — who are not overly happy with the government for the shoddy treatment it had meted out to the Taliban in Afghanistan following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on US soil.

In addition to the pockets of Pashtun population, there are some goths where the Sindhis are in majority. Insiders say that a deal is being negotiated between the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the People’s Party Parliamentarians over the votes of these goths.

A comparative study of previous elections makes it abundantly clear that the Muttahida has been losing ground in NA-247. A cursory look at the figures shows that the votebank of the Muttahida shrunk in this constituency.

In the 1988 elections, Imran Farooq won the constituency as an independent candidate despite the fact that his political affiliation with the Muttahida was no secret. He obtained 93,499 votes. Muzaffar Hussain Hashmi, who came second in the constituency was a candidates of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, received only 12,125 votes. The difference in votes was 81,374.

In the 1990 elections, Imran Farooq again swept the constituency by securing 111,340 votes. The number of votes he received had risen by 19 per cent. S. Hussain Abbas Zaidi of the Pakistan Democratic Alliance had obtained only 3,487 votes. The difference of votes was 107,853.

In the 1993 elections, Hafiz Mohammad Taqi of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) won the constituency, probably because the Muttahida had boycotted the elections.

In the 1997 elections, Mohammad Farooq of the Muttahida won the constituency by securing 62,621 votes. Hafiz Mohammad Taqi of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) obtained 11,220 votes. The difference of votes was 51,480.

While the Muttahida had won the constituency, it had not obtained as many votes as it used to. Muttahida supporters point out that the reason was that in place of Imran Farooq, who was in hiding then, his father Mohammad Farooq Ahmed had taken part in the elections.

NA-247 consists of 11 charges. Charge number one comprises Mujahid Colony Nazimabad No 4. Charge number two consists of Nazimabad number three (part) Jamhooria Colony (part) Nazimabad. Charge number three is made up of Nazimabad No 1 (part), Jalalabad Nazimabad No 1 (part), Jamhooria Colony (part) Nusrat Colony (part).

Charge number four consists of Nazimabad No 2 (part), Gujar Nala (part). Charge number five is made up of Liaquatabad No 1 (part). Charge number six consists of Liaquatabad Block No 7, Block No 5 & 6, Liaquatabad, Qasimabad, Khalidabad, Akramabad, Azam Nagar, Rafiqabad, Nishtar Nagar, Batwa House.

Charge number seven consists of Liaquatabad C Area (part), Usman Goth, Naghman Goth and Jangiar Village. Charge number eight comprises Liaquatabad C Area (part), Usman Goth, Ilyas Goth Graveyard. Charge number nine consists of Firdous Colony (part), Mureed Goth, Jan Mohammad Village, Khalidabad, Firdous Colony.

Charge number ten consists of Rizvia Colony, Usmania Colony, Dadha Village, Waheedabad, 400 Quarter, Golimar, Golimar (part). Charge number eleven consists of Siddiqabad, Sarhad Ittehad Colony, 100 Quarters, Nishtar Colony, Farooqabad Ali, Shahjehanabad.

PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY: Major political parties are in the run for PS-107 and PS-104 which in the previous delimitation setup were called PS-79 and PS-81.