KARACHI: Surrounding the metropolis, a festive atmosphere was seen in most Pakhtun neighbourhoods on Saturday. People left their homes as early as 6:30 in the morning to vote. It was evident in localities such as Gulshan-i-Ghazi, Swat Colony and Muslim Mujahid Colony in Baldia Town, and Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan and Nusrat Bhutto Colony in Pahar Ganj. Notwithstanding the lack of stamps and ballot boxes or delay in the beginning of polling in some polling stations, voters were out in full force.
In District Central UC-20, a two-way thoroughfare, leading from the Paposh roundabout, was packed with cars. One could see tents on the sides of the road as a long line of mostly male voters, stood outside the Ibrahim Ali Bhai Government Girls Secondary School on Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan.
There were a number of paramilitary officials who were busy guiding voters and at times restraining people from pushing one another who were doing so it seems owing to heat and feeling tired after being up on their feet for quite some time in the long queue.
Inside the school were several women standing in a huddle in a corridor. The polling agents were repeatedly asking them to come into the polling booth one by one instead of a group.
One of the six polling agents inside the school said they had not predicted a large number of people stepping out to cast their votes. As a result, the first two hours were spent in managing the crowd because of which only 65 votes could be cast till 10:30am.
Giving other parties a chance
The area surrounding Pahar Ganj is predominantly populated by Pakhtuns with pockets of Urdu-speaking population. Most Pakhtuns belong to the Mandokhel, Kakar and Babar clans in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who settled in Karachi during the 1980s when the construction of the Tarbela Dam began.
The Mandokhels are mostly involved with construction in the surrounding areas and provide heavy machinery. They live in bungalows at the end of the Pahar (mountain) or near the two-way road leading to Shahrah-i-Noor Jahan. The workers and labourers mostly live on top of the mountain.
What prompted them to leave their homes as early as 6:30am to make sure they cast their votes in time? Almost all said it was to ensure proper paved roads in their areas with the provision of water and electricity.
One of the men standing in the line for the previous one hour, Ghulam Nawaz, said: “We have tried several political parties in this area and I have decided to vote for the party that works in my neighbourhood even if it means voting for a party I have previously never voted for.”
For voters in Pahar Ganj there are several options. With banners and flags of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Peoples Party, Jamaat-i-Islami, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Awami National Party (ANP), people walked about with surety, as if they knew who they had to vote for. The only task was to get it done in time.
Naz Gul, a woman of over 60 years of age, speaking to Dawn, said her family had mostly voted for the ANP but this time they were voting for the JUI-F. “We don’t have proper roads. There is water on the roads but not in the taps. We are as scared as we were before of stepping out of our homes. Last night the men of my household decided we have to vote for new people and so I am here.”
UC-20 was an ANP stronghold in the 2001 and 2005 local government elections. But according to political party activists this time the vote is divided. The reason, says Imran Tareen, advocate and JUI-F member, is barring a few, most political parties have realised they can only win through alliances. Speaking about their reliance on other political parties, district president of the ANP Niaz Mohammad Khan said: “We have understood this is the only way for us to stay relevant. But this is the only place from where we are fighting for the seat of chairman without any alliance which if we win would mean a lot to us.”
In UC-19, Nusrat Bhutto Colony, voting began at 7:30am as people had started to queue outside the main gates of a government college and university quite early. Apart from the six main political parties, there was a candidate from the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party of Mehmood Khan Achakzai contesting for the seat of chairman. Despite a number of contestants, the preference of the people it seemed was in favour of the JUI-F, PPP and ANP alliance.
In Gulshan-i-Ghazi, UC-33, of Baldia Town, the preference seemed to be tilted towards the JI and the ANP and in Muslim Mujahid Colony in UC-32 of Baldia, the PTI and the PPP were contesting almost on a similar scale in a neighbourhood which had earlier voted for the ANP.
Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2015