Daily Times

December 2011 may be remembered for its ‘jalsa’ (rally) season. In Lahore in one day, December 18, there were at least four of these by different political parties, namely Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). Each one carried a significant message, except the JI, which did a dharna (sit-in) and so it went nowhere! All the other three have significance and need to be seriously considered. We should also look at the other jalsas like the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) jalsa in Karachi and the PPP jalsa in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

The most publicised and apparently fully supported by the Punjab government was the JuD jalsa at the Minar-e-Pakistan grounds identified as the Difa-i-Pakistan Conference (Pakistan Defence Conference). By chance I got stuck in a traffic jam created by a group of vehicles carrying supporters of the JuD. I must admit that I was shocked to hear the slogans: ‘Difa-e-Pakistan…Taliban, Taliban’ being chanted. The jalsa was supported by the government to the hilt. They were allowed to turn the city yellow by installing their streamers, posters, banners and billboards. I saw these all along the Canal, the Mall, inside the city and in short wherever you went. Generally it is restricted to do such advertisement, and a government permission through the District Coordination Officer (DCO) and the Parks and Horticultural Authority (PHA) is required. Obviously these must have been given. They were also allowed to make announcements. In short, every facility was provided by the Punjab government. A cautious estimate of costs cannot be less than Rs 20 million. In fact, it can be more.

All the show of strength was there to assert that the Taliban are a force, that the Punjab government does not care a bit if the organisation is an internationally banned outfit, and funding is no problem (so help us God!).

The PPP jalsa was commemorative. It marked the founding day of the PPP and was the brainchild of a few members. It did not seem to have much party backing, although it is said that Dr Babar Awan was there. This was the least talked about and perhaps the least attended. However, even small jalsas of the PPP are sizeable so one cannot write these off as non-events.

The third jalsa of the day was at Nasir Bagh by the APML and to be addressed on video by General Pervez Musharraf. The situation here was in complete contrast to the Taliban jalsa. To start with, the DCO denied the APML the choice of the first location, which was Mochi Gate Park. Then a second application was prompted for Nasir Bagh. Nasir Bagh was a favourite place at the time of Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Later it lost its political relevance because of various developments within the park and also parking problems. However, because that was the only alternative, the APML agreed. The permission too was, however, withheld and the party had to move the Lahore High Court on December 13, after waiting for two weeks. The court decided in APML’s favour on December 15 and the actual copy of the order was available on December 16, i.e. only two days before the announced jalsa and Saturday and Sunday in between making it almost impossible for the party to put its act together. But the APML took the challenge to go ahead. They were soon to realise that the Punjab administration had almost sworn to not let the jalsa happen. The PHA had deployed staff round the clock to remove any kind of publicity material put up by the party. They did not care about contempt of court and removed billboards, streamers, anything and everything they could. The Punjab government finally issued ‘permission’ late in the evening of Saturday, December 17, with 29 restrictions. In spite of all this and traffic blocks, about 7,000 people turned up and loudly cheered Pervez Musharraf’s announcement to return to Pakistan in January 2012, i.e. earlier than announced before. Leading newspapers termed it the first reasonable jalsa of the APML.

The biggest jalsa was in Karachi on December 25, organised by the PTI of Imran Khan at Quaid’s Mausoleum. It contained many surprises. After its earlier jalsa in Kasur, where people ran away with the chairs, the Karachi jalsa showed discipline and organisation. Several defectors from other parties showed up. Some so-called big political ‘electables’ boarded the bandwagon and addressed the huge crowd. Imran Khan emerged as a challenger to the status quo and also did everything to please the Balochistan province by making special announcements. Estimated attendance was over 100,000, which is large by any standards. The loud and clear message was that the public is fed up of the current political mismanagement of national affairs by the coalition government and they need change. If the hope for this change is provided by the PTI, then so be it.

The last jalsa was in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, the PPP’s hometown. All kinds of rumours prevailed before it. There were all kinds of vicious rumours about Mr Zardari’s medical check-up, and the strains between institutional workings. Rumours are a favourite pastime of people and some sections of the press. These do little good to the country, occupy the attention of government functionaries and distract them from any good work they may have done. Perhaps the most significant question raised by President Zardari in the jalsa was about the investigation of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s shahaadat (martyrdom) case. Where the truth is, is still unknown and may remain so for a long time if not forever. This jalsa marked the end of the campaigns. Other jalsas, if any, carried little significance.

There are new jalsas on the anvil including one in Sukkur by the MQM, and in Karachi by the APML. It seems that 2012 could be the election year and all parties are bracing up for participation.

The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, author, director and actor