NA-256: A House divided on ethnic and sectarian lines

Residents of the area, which has 19 seminaries, face increasing sectarian violence.


Naeem Sahoutara May 06, 2013
The constituency comprises Faisal Cantonment, Shah Faisal Colony, Council-1 of the Model Colony in Malir Town and parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. DESIGN: EMA ANIS

KARACHI:


The people in different localities which fall under the constituency of NA-256, have co-existed in peace over the years despite the presence of multiple religious seminaries in the area. When the Shia community held their mourning processions during Muharram, their Sunni neighbours were known to facilitate them by setting up sabeels (kiosks) along the route of the Imambargah in Shah Faisal Colony.


The residents of the area, which has at least 19 seminaries representing different schools of thought, however, have noticed an upward trend in sectarian violence recently and struggling to cope with the problem.

Today, the NA-256 constituency in Karachi is deeply divided on religious, sectarian, political and ethnic basis.



The ethnic composition is made up of Punjabi, Hazara, Pakhtuns, and Urdu-speaking residents. The Shia community is also present in pockets of the area, such as Sadat Colony and Shah Faisal Colony.

The places

The constituency comprises Faisal Cantonment, Shah Faisal Colony, Council-1 of the Model Colony in Malir Town and parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

On the south east, NA-256 touches the National Highway and on the west is the Shaheed-e-Millat extension road. Some parts of the constituency are located along the main railway line towards up-country. The PAF Mehran Airbase, PAF Museum, the longest flyover that connects Shah Faisal Colony with Korangi Industrial Area, St. John’s Perish Drigh Road and the Jamia Millia College are among the most prominent landmarks of the constituency.

The people

With a population density of 10,157 persons per square kilometre, the constituency has 100 per cent urban population.

This constituency has 78.23 per cent literacy rate and 97.11 per cent of its residents have access to electricity and 78.06 per cent receive tap water.

There are 459,185 registered voters in NA-256, out of which 238,142 are male and 221,043 are female. The turnout in the 2002 elections was 35 per cent and 44.05 per cent in 2008.

The politics

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which has won the National Assembly and Sindh Assembly seats in both the 2002 and 2008 elections, are confident of their victory in the upcoming elections.



“MQM has won at least seven elections from this constituency and the first victory was in the local bodies elections of 1986,” said the party’s two-time winning candidate, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan.

Khan, who started his political carrier as councilor from Gulshan-e-Iqbal, claims that during his two tenures, he has laid down a new water supply and sewerage system in various areas, including Model Colony, Liaquat Ali Khan Road, Shama Shopping Center, Dada Bhoy Road, and the Overseas’ Society.

“We have provided youths with libraries, renovated the historic Jamia Millia College and established a cardiac centre at Drigh Colony,” claimed the MQM candidate.

In the 2002 elections the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of the religio-political groups, tried to cut MQM’s vote bank.

This year, the 10-party alliance - which includes the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional and other important Sindhi nationalist groups - hopes to give MQM a tough time in NA-256.



Owais Shah Noorani, the son of late Moulana Shah Ahmed Noorani, has been nominated by the alliance while Mushtaq Ali of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi will also contest from this seat.  “NA-256 is comparatively more developed than other parts of the city but the water and sewerage facilities are still non-existent for a large number of the residents,” said Noorani. “After providing facilities to the people, we will work towards peace - there was stability in Karachi during the time when religious parties were in majority.

The Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi also hopes to divide the electoral strength in the area, where the party is planning to revive its vote bank.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2013.

COMMENTS (6)

fakhar | 10 years ago | Reply

vote for IMRAN KHAN

immad | 10 years ago | Reply i will vote for PTI this is my first VOTE please guys vote for change and PTI!
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