Custom packed Eid: Pindi gears up for ‘meat politics’

Plastic bags printed with pictures of ticket hopefuls, party leaders, flags for distributing sacrificial meat

RAWALPINDI: With the general elections just a handful of months away, political activities in the garrison city seem to have shifted up a gear with ticket hopefuls utilising any and every opportunity to show their worth to the party supremos and to further their respective party’s standing in their respective constituencies.

Candidates have thus decided to cash-in on the tradition of distributing sacrificial meat on Eidul Azha to score political points.

In their bid to take a head start in strengthening their bonds with voters and key opinion leaders, particularly in National Assembly constituency 55 (NA-55) and its respective provincial assembly constituencies, they are making elaborate arrangements to send sacrificial meat in customised packing.

According to sources, politicians have had plastic bags printed with their pictures, names and party flags to pack and dispatch sacrificial meat to people.

For this purpose, strong electable candidates have purchased ‘extra’ sacrificial animals for this year’s Eidul Azha, sources said, to aid in meat distribution.

Party insiders state that local politicians who are favourites to contest the upcoming general elections next year too have started purchasing extra animals for Eidul Azha.

Experienced in community mobilisation and electoral politics, some political leaders have set up coordination committees to distribute the sacrificial meat in neighbourhoods.

Many politicians have bought animals exclusively for their expected voters. They have set up camps where party workers are seen taking care of these cattle heads.

Once packed, each packet of meat will sport the name and image of party leader, the candidate, the party flag and in some cases the electoral symbol printed on it.

Leading among these ‘meat politicians’ are Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Rawalpindi President Babar Jadoon, PPP’s Khalid Nawaz Bobby - who has twice contested (unsuccessfully) for the PP-11 constituency and now has set his eyes on the NA-55 seat, PPP Rawalpindi Deputy Secretary Banaras Chaudhary, Senior Vice President Jameel Qureshi and District President Zaheer Sultan.

Probables from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) include District President Zahid Kazmi, Maulana Tariq Masood, City President Chaudhry Asghar and Secretary Adnan Chaudhry. Ticket chasers Col (Retired) Ajmal Sabir Raja and Wasiq Qayum are also planning to join the meat drive to further their political goals in their constituencies, sources said.

However, sources claimed that the meat diplomacy by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi was far ahead of other rivals.

Not to be left behind, Rawalpindi Mayor Sardar Naseem Khan, former MPA Ziaullah Shah and prominent PML-N leaders such as Sheikh Arsalan Hafeez and Chaudhary Sarfaraz Afzal too have made exclusive arrangements for the mass distribution of sacrificial meat in the localities where they hold sway.

(Translated by Laila Raza)

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2017.