Daily Times

Over the past 10 days, hundreds of protesters loyal to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have been protesting despite cold weather, against a local government law passed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)-dominated Sindh Assembly, which according to the opposition parties, has stripped the district governments of several key financial and administrative powers.

Attired in jackets and warm shawls, men remain at the sit-in during the day and at night, whereas the women supporters along with their children visit the site after the sunset and stay there till late at night.

“It’s a lengthy struggle, therefore we have tried to make it (sit-in) a family affair to reduce the conventional stress and boredom during such events,” Salman Shaikh, one of the organizers, told a foreign media outlet.

At the first sight, it all appears to be a usual family outing, but in contrast, it is a protest sit-in outside the provincial assembly in Karachi. The day begins with morning prayer, followed by Quran class and study circle. Special events, like poetry contests, drawing competitions, and swings are arranged for adults and children on Saturdays and Sundays. In a corner, an open kitchen is established to prepare meals for the participants, whereas many part-time visitors bring food with them.

“I along with my wife and (two) children have been visiting the sit-in every alternate day. Many other families from our neighborhood also visit here,” Atiq Ahmad, a JI worker from the city’s northern district, said. “In fact, we (families) had a one-dish party today,” Ahmad said, smiling. The law, which was passed late last month, has invited ire from the opposition parties, which accuse the PPP of managing the constituencies in a manner, whereby it can clinch a majority of seats in the local government polls in Karachi. The opposition also demands direct elections for the mayors in the province in line with other provinces.

The JI’s campaign for the rights of Karachi has not gone down well with the PPP, which has been ruling Sindh for the third consecutive term, and some nationalists, who see the move as “ethnicity-based.” In recent years, the JI’s Karachi Chief, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman, an engineer by profession, has shot to the limelight because of his aggressive stance on water, power, and transport issues the city has long been facing.

The PPP on Sunday night made its first contact with the JI for negotiations, a move welcomed by the JI, which, however, announced that the sit-in would continue until its major demands are met. The PPP and some nationalist groups accuse the JI of “playing” with the sentiments of “Mohajirs” in an attempt to reclaim its former stronghold by replacing the MQM.

Rejecting the allegations, Rahman said his party’s struggle has nothing to do with ethnicity as it is purely against the controversial bill, which has “usurped” local governments’ powers not only in Karachi but the entire province.

“It’s not the JI but the PPP and the MQM that has time and again played Sindhi and Mohajir cards to keep their voters hostage. Our struggle is not against or in favor of any community but for the rights of Karachi, whose progress is the progress of Sindh and Pakistan,” he said.

“We believe in the unity of Sindh. It is the PPP and the MQM that have divided the people on the ground of language and ethnicity,” he charged. The PPP and the MQM have been coalition partners several times. Anadolu Agency