Day 5 of dharnas: Protesters come up with songs and poems to show anger
Parties call for black day, protest to be held at Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum today .
A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter wraps a flag around the forehead of another protester who had turned up at the party’s protest on Rashid Minhas Road. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The protracted protests against the ‘hijacking’ of elections in Karachi have allowed people to refine the way they express their reservations and put forth demands.
On Tuesday - the fifth consecutive day of protests - over a 1,000 people had come to Sharae Faisal, where Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) had organised a rally. The protesters may have started off with the usual chants, ‘gundagardi nahi chaley gi’ [we will not accept hooliganism] and ‘dhandli nahi chaley gi’ [we won’t take rigging], but it soon became apparent that they had invested their creative juices in coming up with fresher ways to protest.
A makeshift stage had been set up where protesters had a chance to present songs, speeches and poems which they had meticul. One rather amusing song about the Chief Election Commissioner went something like this: ‘Jaago, jaago Fakhru bhai, qaum ne tum pe kiya bharosa, qaum ki kesi shaamat ayi’ [Wake up Fakhru bhai. The nation trusted you and it met a catastrophe].
Another unique feature was a 200-metre-long flag of Pakistan which protesters held up as they shouted slogans against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) mismanagement on May 11, polling day.
While addressing the protesters, JI’s candidate for NA-251 and Indus Pharma CEO, Zahid Saeed, said, “The ECP should realise that the protests will continue until it accepts our demands for fresh elections in all of Karachi’s constituencies.” He added that political parties had been organising protests separately but would form an alliance to push for their demands. “If the ECP asks for evidence, we will supply it. But it should ask its own staff about who took the polling staff hostage and seized ballot boxes.”
The head of the Human Rights Network, Intikhab Alam, was also present at the protest. He said that the organisation had been collecting data on rigging. “Some ballot boxes were not even sealed - the basic criterion for free and fair elections had not even been fulfilled.”
Hasan Amar, a protester, felt that the ECP’s decision to order fresh polls in some polling stations of NA-250 was not enough to counter the damage of “widespread” rigging across the city.
PTI’s keeps protests going
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) also organised another protest outside Millennium Mall on Rashid Minhas Road. The participants shouted slogans against the CEC and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). With PTI’s flags wrapped around their foreheads and placards in their hands, they said that Karachi is part of Pakistan and they will not tolerate claims made by any party that the city is its property.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Rahila Khan, the joint secretary for PTI’s Sindh division, said the party has made a clear cut demand to the ECP - fresh elections in the city under the watchful eye of the army. “We are here to free our city from terrorists, target killers and extortionists. If the re-elections are not conducted, we’re very scared that there might be bloodshed in the city.” She said that their party workers and supporters are against the gun-culture. “Our polling agents and voters were forced out of the polling station by MQM thugs who then filled the boxes with bogus votes,” said Khan.
Farrah Malik, a PTI supporter who came from North Nazimabad, “We want justice. The CEC should tell us why the Rangers, police and army did nothing when hooligans from MQM were openly rigging the elections.”
PTI’s candidate for PS-118, Arsalan Taj Ghumman, said the party is organising protests across the city because rigging took place everywhere. “We want to remove the misperceptions that rigging took place only in NA-250. I myself was attacked and beaten by MQM activists at a polling station in my constituency.” He said that the party is submitting a petition in the apex court and will provide evidence of rigging in the court.
A black day against rigging has been announced and a protest will be organised outide Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2013.
The protracted protests against the ‘hijacking’ of elections in Karachi have allowed people to refine the way they express their reservations and put forth demands.
On Tuesday - the fifth consecutive day of protests - over a 1,000 people had come to Sharae Faisal, where Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) had organised a rally. The protesters may have started off with the usual chants, ‘gundagardi nahi chaley gi’ [we will not accept hooliganism] and ‘dhandli nahi chaley gi’ [we won’t take rigging], but it soon became apparent that they had invested their creative juices in coming up with fresher ways to protest.
A makeshift stage had been set up where protesters had a chance to present songs, speeches and poems which they had meticul. One rather amusing song about the Chief Election Commissioner went something like this: ‘Jaago, jaago Fakhru bhai, qaum ne tum pe kiya bharosa, qaum ki kesi shaamat ayi’ [Wake up Fakhru bhai. The nation trusted you and it met a catastrophe].
Another unique feature was a 200-metre-long flag of Pakistan which protesters held up as they shouted slogans against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) mismanagement on May 11, polling day.
While addressing the protesters, JI’s candidate for NA-251 and Indus Pharma CEO, Zahid Saeed, said, “The ECP should realise that the protests will continue until it accepts our demands for fresh elections in all of Karachi’s constituencies.” He added that political parties had been organising protests separately but would form an alliance to push for their demands. “If the ECP asks for evidence, we will supply it. But it should ask its own staff about who took the polling staff hostage and seized ballot boxes.”
The head of the Human Rights Network, Intikhab Alam, was also present at the protest. He said that the organisation had been collecting data on rigging. “Some ballot boxes were not even sealed - the basic criterion for free and fair elections had not even been fulfilled.”
Hasan Amar, a protester, felt that the ECP’s decision to order fresh polls in some polling stations of NA-250 was not enough to counter the damage of “widespread” rigging across the city.
PTI’s keeps protests going
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) also organised another protest outside Millennium Mall on Rashid Minhas Road. The participants shouted slogans against the CEC and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). With PTI’s flags wrapped around their foreheads and placards in their hands, they said that Karachi is part of Pakistan and they will not tolerate claims made by any party that the city is its property.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Rahila Khan, the joint secretary for PTI’s Sindh division, said the party has made a clear cut demand to the ECP - fresh elections in the city under the watchful eye of the army. “We are here to free our city from terrorists, target killers and extortionists. If the re-elections are not conducted, we’re very scared that there might be bloodshed in the city.” She said that their party workers and supporters are against the gun-culture. “Our polling agents and voters were forced out of the polling station by MQM thugs who then filled the boxes with bogus votes,” said Khan.
Farrah Malik, a PTI supporter who came from North Nazimabad, “We want justice. The CEC should tell us why the Rangers, police and army did nothing when hooligans from MQM were openly rigging the elections.”
PTI’s candidate for PS-118, Arsalan Taj Ghumman, said the party is organising protests across the city because rigging took place everywhere. “We want to remove the misperceptions that rigging took place only in NA-250. I myself was attacked and beaten by MQM activists at a polling station in my constituency.” He said that the party is submitting a petition in the apex court and will provide evidence of rigging in the court.
A black day against rigging has been announced and a protest will be organised outide Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2013.