For NA-252, battle might be between scattered goths and underdeveloped urban areas

Shrine of Manghopir with crocodiles' pond is the most famous site of constituency

KARACHI: The constituency of NA-252 in District West houses the famous shrine of Manghopir and its surrounding locality which is also named Manghopir after the sufi. Like other constituencies of District West, NA-252 is largely underdeveloped and comprises many slums and rural pockets with few educational and health facilities.

The constituency includes the entire sub-division of Manghopir along with some parts of Mominabad sub-division. There are two provincial assembly seats falling in NA-252, which are PS-121 and PS-122.

The natural springs of Manghopir along with the shrine and the crocodiles' pond in its vicinity are the most famous landmarks of the constituency.



Some of the localities falling in NA-252 are Umer Goth, Halqani Goth, Khairabad, Haji Malik Goth, parts of Surjani Town, Khuda Ki Basti, Manghopir, Band Murad village, Makrani Para, Pashtunabad, Mahi Garhi village, Kohsar Town, Taiser Town, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Abdullah Goth, Gulshan-e-Zia Liaquat, Gulshan-e-Zia Ghaziabad, Gulshan-e-Bahar, Orangi Town Sector 16 and Gulshan-e-Ahbab.



All the problems being faced by Karachi are extensively there in NA-252, including water scarcity, load-shedding, dilapidated roads, appalling sewerage system, and fewer educational and health facilities.

In terms of crime, the constituency is one of the worst affected. Mugging, vehicles snatching and robberies are rampant. Residents also accuse police officials of being in connivance with criminals. Land mafia enjoys a free hand in the area as many public and private land have been illegally occupied. Many plots reserved for parks and playgrounds in Gulshan-e-Maymar, Taiser Town and Surjani Town have also been illegally occupied with multi-storey buildings constructed on them.



The demography

Various ethnicities live in localities which are part of the constituency. In areas like Surjani Town, Taiser Town, Khuda Ki Basti and Gulshan-e-Maymar, Urdu speaking people are in a majority. Punjabi, Seraiki and other ethnicities also dwell in many areas.

The constituency is predominantly inhabited by lower classes of the socio-economic strata, however, a sizable chunk of middle class also lives in a few localities.

Balochi and Sindhi speaking people live in goths included in the constituency, which have no access to water lines or electricity. Although there are public schools in goths, only a few dispensaries are there to provide healthcare due to which villagers have to travel to the main city to seek treatment.



Contestants

Before the new delimitation, the constituency was called NA-243, the provincial seats falling in which were PS-96 and PS-97. In the last general elections, all the national and provincial seats were secured by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) whose candidate Abdul Waseem was elected to the National Assembly, while Mazahir Amir Khan and Sheikh Abdullah won the two provincial seats.



The MQM-Pakistan has fielded Abdul Qadir Khanzada for NA-252. There are a total of 16 candidates in the fray, who also include Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Abdul Khaliq Mirza, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal's (MMA) Abdul Majeed, Pak Sarzameen Party's (PSP) Aftkhar Akbar Randhawa and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Aftab Jahangir.

As many as 18 candidates are in the run for PS-121, including MQM-P's Basit Ahmed Siddiqui, PPP's Ali Akbar, MMA's Muhammad Khalid, PSP's Sheikh Abdullah and PTI's Jan Muhammad Gabool.

For PS-122, 24 candidates are in the field. They include MQM-P's Muhammad Mazahir Amir, PPP's Abdul Sattar, MMA's Syed Muhammad Rizwan Shah, PSP's Abdul Habib and PTI's Rabistan Khan.

Reporting by Syed Ashraf Ali 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2018.