Nomads deem campaign promises hollow

Politicians remain largely out of contact with Pakhiwas community

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

Campaigning for the 2024 General Elections has drawn to a close, but Pakhiwas, a nomadic community of over half a million people in the district, were once again neglected by politicians on the campaign trail.

The Pakhiwas community migrated from riverine areas around the Indus and settled in government lands and open fields to escape the 2010 floods and operations by the Pakistan Army against criminals in the area.

The very term ‘Pakhiwas’ translates to migrant. Politicians have neglected the Pakhiwas community, despite them being registered voters with NADRA.

Members of the Pakhiwas community said that beyond administering polio drops, no politician nor any government official has contacted the community to date.

They further alleged that on Election Day, representatives from political parties forcefully put them in vehicles and take them to cast their votes.

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The Pakhiwas community lives in slums, with members lamenting a lack of rights.

The total population of Rahim Yar Khan consists of 5,564,000 people, while the Pakhiwas community in total numbers 500,000.

Members of the Pakhiwas community also have National Identity Cards issued by NADRA, as proof of their residence in the district.

Moreover, the votes of these Pakhiwas families are also registered in 6 national and 13 provincial assembly constituencies.

According to Pakhiwas families, candidates of all political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan Peoples’ Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami, made big claims during the election campaign that they would give rights to the poor and extend relief.

However, none of the politicians of Rahim Yar Khan district contacted the community even once.

The community demanded that politicians provide basic facilities to the population of the area, including land ownership rights, education and basic health facilities among other amenities.

Pakhiwas families said that they largely make and sell baskets and homemade handicrafts made from driftwood for a living.

The community has also demanded better employment opportunities to relieve deprivation.

Meanwhile in Dera Ghazi Khan, over 150 candidates will contest 3 national and 6 provincial assembly seats in the district.

The Election Commission and district administration have completed arrangements in Dera Ghazi Khan and election materials and ballot boxes were delivered. Over 1.2 million voters will exercise their right to vote.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th 2024.