A chat with the man who keeps ANP’s lantern burning bright in Karachi

Shahi Syed, says the party won’t be deterred by militants.

KARACHI: The political chessboard that is Karachi can be a very difficult one to make the right moves on - especially when there’s a danger that militants might wreak havoc on the squares on which your pieces stand.

But judging from the determination embodied by Awami National party’s Sindh chief, Shahi Syed, the militants are a very long way off from declaring checkmate. In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune at his residence Mardan House, the party’s provincial chief expressed his dissatisfaction with the transparency of the general elections. As you may well have guessed, his main concern is the threat posed by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “How can you call it a free election when our party can’t hold rallies and campaign openly?”

Thirty-five ANP offices in the city have been forcibly shut down by militants and the party’s flags have also been ripped off in neighbourhoods that have become TTP strongholds. ANP has now decided to go door-to-door, to fish for people’s votes. Shahi Syed said, however, that ANP would march on with steely resolve and refuse to bow out of the elections because of the militants. “Those who called it quits and refused to charge through during the elections have been sent packing.”



After stumbling in the 2002 elections when its nine candidates failed to win a single seat, the party hit back harder in 2008, mustering up support among the city’s transporters and holding large rallies in Karachi under the banner of ‘loya jirga’.

This time around in Sindh, the party will contest for 41 provincial assembly and 19 National Assembly seats. After a meeting on Friday, the party directed its activists to start political campaigns in their areas. “Our workers are eager to begin their political activities in the city regardless of the security threats and risks.” Shahi Syed is hopeful that the party will secure seven provincial assembly and three National Assembly seats if the elections are conducted in a free and transparent manner.

Of friends and foes

ANP has yet to decide whether it will bargain with other parties to iron out seat adjustment and coalition formulas. During the 2008 elections, this strategy proved to be fruitful in PS-128, which falls in Landhi: through a coalition with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), ANP’s candidate, Amanullah Masood, was able to win it.

“We are open to bartering and forming a coalition with any party in Sindh - with the exception of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM),” said Shahi Syed. The party is trying to snag Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) support to make a powerful alliance against MQM - its long-time rival.

Syed acknowledged that ANP’s coalition with PPP was instrumental to its win in PS-128. This time, the party hopes to step up the bartering process and map out an adjustment formula for four provincial assembly seats, namely PS-128 and PS-129 in Landhi and PS-89 in Keamari and PS-93 in SITE. It also hopes to form a coalition for NA-258 which comprises Landhi and its neighbouring areas. “ANP’s seat adjustment with PPP and JI will also benefit them. This is as ANP has a good vote bank in almost every constituency of the city,” said Shahi Syed.

“If all parties contest the elections individually, then ANP can win seats because of the division in the vote bank,” he added. “But through seat adjustment with JI, we will obviously have more chances of getting seven provincial assembly and three National Assembly seats.” Should ANP keep an eye out for Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazal (JUI-F)? Shahi Syed brushed the party off with a shrug. “It does not have political clout in this city.” When asked why ANP had not extended its hand to the 10-party alliance comprising PML-F, JI, Sunni Tehreek and Sindh’s nationalist parties, Shahi Syed said that there were constraints at the time. “When the alliance was formed, ANP was a part of the government whereas the parties which comprised it were from the opposition.”

Profile: Biography of Shahi Syed

Shahi Syed hails from Babuzai in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. He came to Karachi in 1971 to attain education and eventually landed a job at a private company. From there, he started a small transport business and within a decade, he morphed into a well-established businessman.

He joined the ANP on April 15, 2001. Within two years he was elected the president of the party’s Sindh chapter. Since then, he has been reelected to the post three times. Last year Syed was elected as an ANP senator.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2013.