Protesters summon energy to fight back pump chaos

Tear gas shelling and aerial firing at Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

KARACHI: Unable to reach his office, Farhan joined a crowd of residents at Jauhar Morr protesting the decision to close petrol pumps on Monday morning.

“It is not fair. We are buyers not beggars,” he said. When he was refused service at a petrol pump in the morning, Farhan believed it was his right to protest.

He was not the only one in the city suffering because the Petroleum Dealers Association (PDA) had called a strike against dropping profits. Students, the sick and working people found themselves grounded at the start of the week. Others stayed at home because of the violence that broke out. There were hardly any buses on the roads.

Hashim Raza, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, could not pick his children from school. “I am hoping they will open the pump,” he said as he too joined the protest.

Most of the people complained that the pumps were closed because of the expected rise in petroleum prices. “The owners just want to sell petrol at a high price and that is why they have shut down,” said one man.

The series of protests started on MA Jinnah Road around 8:30 am and quickly spread to Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Sharae Faisal, Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Abul Hassan Ispahani Road, Aisha Manzil, Gulberg, Falak Naz Arcade near the airport and other neighbourhoods.

Around noon, the police and Rangers reached Jauhar Morr, where the largest number of residents had gathered. But the crowd was so angry that they had to fire in the air to frighten them and use tear gas. In response, the protesters attacked petrol pumps and broke windows.

They claimed that they did not want to react violently but the attitude of the petrol pump security guards and the law enforcers left them with no choice. “We were staging a peaceful sit-in,” one of the men said. “What is the government doing with the atomic bomb? Why don’t they use it on us,” another one remarked angrily.

“Today’s protests proved that we are united and will continue to be if this continues,” said a protester Syed Abbas.

Several people were injured when the law enforcers baton-charged them. Many of them, including a former MPA from Jamaat-e-Islami, Younus Barai, were detained from Gulistan-e-Jauhar but were released shortly.

The stand-off lasted nearly eight hours, after which political forces moved in to persuade the petrol dealers to end their strike. A delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, led by Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed, met PDA chairman Abdul Sami and others. Dr Ahmed assured them that their problems would be addressed and a resolution was also passed during the Sindh Assembly. Although the PDA ended the strike, most of the petrol pumps stayed closed. A heavy contingent of Rangers and the police were, however, asked to guard all stations.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2011.