As violence goes down in NA-242, civic problems come to the fore

About 40 per cent of the area’s residents don’t have access to potable water.

KARACHI:

The media maelstrom surrounding some parts of NA-242 was so intense during the summer of 2011 that though violence has plummeted, misperceptions about the area still persist.

This is especially problematic since the lingering hype about ethnic bloodshed distorts reality and makes it easy to forget the myriad other problems its residents now face. Kati Pahari, Aligarh and Qasba Colony, three names which at once bring to mind images of bloodshed that swept through the city in 2011, are situated within the constituency. Before jumping to conclusions about the immediate need for greater social cohesion, it would perhaps be more prudent to ask the area’s residents about the most pressing issues.



The walls of the houses around Kati Pahari are peppered with bullet holes, serving as a grim reminder of turbulent times. In December 1986, the horrific Qasba-Aligarh massacre which was sparked by tension between different ethnicities took place just a stone’s throw away.

But nowadays, there’s a sense of calm, given that Rangers personnel have been deployed here. It seems one of the major problem now is the gangs involved in extortion. There are also growing concerns about the emergence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) around Kati Pahari, though the militants have largely been circumscribed to Kunwari Colony and Pakhtunabad, which are found in the northern parts of NA-242. It seems as if militant threats have changed the social dynamics of the area, and all ethnic groups are now on guard. This also happens to be the constituency in which Perween Rahman, the director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was gunned down, allegedly by the land mafia. Encroachments are a major issue in the constituency and land grabbers have become a new menace.

Most of the constituency’s residents are labourers who live in semi-pucca houses. About 40 per cent of the households don’t have access to potable water through taps and sanitation also remains a big issue.

The literacy rate of the area is around 61 per cent. Though most of the government-run schools in the area have opened their doors after the violence in 2011, some are still closed because teachers posted at them fear the impending danger. The constituency is also home to four government colleges. Qatar Hospital and Mansoor Nagar hospital also fall in NA-242.

Ethnic composition

Roughly 65 per cent of the people in the constituency belong to the Urdu-speaking community, 30 per cent are Pashtuns, and the remainder comprises Baloch, Punjabis and Sindhis.  Some pockets of NA-242 are home to the Christian community as well.



The Pashtun majority areas include Kunwari Colony, Awan Colony, Islamia Colony, Mohammad Pur, Qasba, Muslimabad, Pirabad and Aligarh. The Urdu-speaking community are in a majority in Ghaziabad, Gulshan-e-Zia, Khalidabad, Liaquat Chowk, Mansoor Nagar, Raees Amrohi, Mustafa Colony, Naseemabad and portions of Orangi Town. The constituency also has some spots where the Baloch are in a majority. They include Moria Goth, Baloch Colony and Gabol Colony.

The political scenario

The constituency has traditionally been the stronghold of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which won the past two elections.

This time, MQM has awarded its ticket for NA-242 to Mehboob Alam, who was in-charge of the party’s unit. This is the first time that he will contest the elections, but he is confident about winning the seat handily.

Bari Khan is vying for the seat on PPP’s ticket. He has considerable support among the Baloch community as well as the Pashtuns. ANP has awarded its ticket to Asghar Khan. His family has remained associated with ANP since the Bacha Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar Movement and he is the council member of the party’s Sindh division. Najeeb Ullah Khan Niazi of PML-N is the 10-party-allaince’s joint candidate for the seat. He is regarded as one of the strongest candidates for the constituency, especially since the ANP, MQM and PPP have curtailed their activities in light of TTP threats.

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