Two-way street: Strikes to support MQM and protests to condemn it

Traders in Karachi, other cities back anti-extortion position, some towns protest against MQM behaviour in Assembly.

SUKKUR/ HYDERABAD/ KARACHI:

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) street power, as witnessed in the Sindh Assembly on Friday, made its presence felt on Saturday as traders across the province shut shop to support the party’s anti-extortion strike.

The initial call to protest was made by the All Karachi Tajir Ittehad and was backed by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry Pakistan and other trade organisations.

Makeshift wickets replaced cars in Karachi’s busiest commercial areas and streets which were usually narrowed by vendors. One of the few places you could see people gathering was the Arambagh furniture market, where the All Karachi Tajir Ittehad (AKTI) was gearing up to protest against the increase in extortion over the last couple of months.

“The government taxes the people. They are supposed to protect the people,” said AKTI’s Ismail Lalpuria. “In Pakistan they tax us but don’t protect us. This is exactly what the extortionists do.”

At 4 pm, around 50 traders draped in black and MQM flags, made their way from Arambagh to Burnes Road. They stopped in front of Fresco Bakery where AKTI’s Atiq Mir spoke. “Today, you can see that when traders join hands with a businessman, no matter how small, they can shut down paan stalls and large departmental stores,” he said.

The traders were chanting slogans against extortionists, the defunct Peoples Amn Committee chief Uzair Baloch and in support of MQM chief Altaf Hussain. Most of the traders were associated with the MQM and non-partisan traders were nowhere in sight.

The protesters also stopped in front of Karachi Press Club where Jamil Paracha, a trader, and MPAs Muqeem Alam and Tahir Qureshi joined the protest. “Where are the people who claim to own the city?” said Paracha. “These landlords and feudals who say that they protect the city are nowhere to be seen when the going gets tough. We can all see which party is willing to sacrifice for the public interest.”

Elsewhere in Sindh

In retaliation to the MQM’s behaviour at the assembly session, where 19 microphones were broken, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and National Peoples Party (NPP) organised a counter-protest against them.

Meanwhile, trade was partially suspended in many districts of Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas, markets in Shaheed Benazirabad, Thatta, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Sanghar and Umerkot, were also closed.

Aerial firing was heard outside the MQM’s zonal office in Thatta while PPP and nationalist party workers rallied against the MQM. NPP workers held a protest in Shaheed Benazirabad and condemned the way MPA Arif Mustafa Jatoi was shoved around at the assembly. In Sehwan, people from the Jatoi tribe and Awami Ittehad Party staged a sit-in outside the press club against the MQM.

Most of the markets and businesses in Shikarpur, Moro and Naushero Feroze, which is Jatoi’s hometown, were closed. However, this was not in support of the MQM but against it.

In Khairpur, the police booked seven MQM workers, including the zonal deputy, for forcing traders and shopkeepers to pull their shutters down. Although the main bazaar and business centres were shut down, Sukkur’s biggest meat and vegetable market, Victoria Market, was open. No strike was observed in Ghotki, Jacobabad and Kashmore. In Larkana, the police arrested more than 30 MQM workers for forcing traders to close shop.

Lawyers boycott court

In Karachi, the courts were deserted because of the strike and all cases were adjourned. The authorities did not bring the under-trial prisoners to court either. The lawyers in Khairpur, Sukkur and Larkana did not go to court in protest. They felt that the MQM had violated the sanctity of the Sindh Assembly. While talking to The Express Tribune, the president of the district bar association in Sukkur, Shafqat Raheem, said that he was shocked by the MQM. “If the educated representatives act like this, what can we expect from the illiterate masses?” he said.

with additional information from PPI

Balancing the cheque book

According to Lalpuria, a shutter down strike could easily cause traders a loss of three to four billion rupees. He estimated that extortion in the major markets such as Jamaa Cloth, Eidgah, Urdu Bazaar, Jodia Bazaar, Saddar, Electronic Market and  others would amount to a total of about Rs2.5 million per day but there was no way to verify the figures. The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee claimed that these estimates were just wild guesses.

“The issue we face today is that even owners of small businesses aren’t spared,” said Lalpuria. “One can understand why the owner of a furniture store is being asked to pay but it does not make sense to ask a paan wala for bhatta.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2012.