KARACHI:
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is expecting a big crowd. They have made seating arrangements for nearly 150,000 people at Bagh-e-Jinnah, a public park adjacent to the Quaid's mausoleum where the party's chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is set to address a rally and launch his political career on October 18.
On Saturday, according to party leaders, around 22,000 vehicles full of people from rural Sindh will enter Karachi to hear their chairperson. The PPP has also arranged for four special trains from Sukkur, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar to get people to Chanesar Halt in PECHS from where they will proceed towards the mazaar to attend the jalsa.
Entry points
There will be two main entrances to the rally - ordinary citizens will enter the jalsa from the Sea Breeze side while the VVIPs will be able to enter through the mazaar's VVIP gate adjacent to the chowrangi.
PPP leaders, including Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Waqar Mehdi and Najmi Alam, reviewed the arrangements and held a press conference after visiting the venue.
According to Memon, Bilawal will talk about the carnage that took place on Karsaz on October 18, 2007, when Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after spending eight years in self exile. More than 139 people were killed while nearly 450 were injured in the attack.
The information minister added that by holding the public meeting at the Quaid's mausoleum, the chairperson was making a symbolic commitment to the Father of the Nation of getting rid of the militants and rebuilding the nation as the Quaid had envisioned.
While talking about the security arrangements, Memon said that fool-proof arrangements had been made but some people were spreading baseless rumours about threats.
He claimed that reports of the party using government machinery for the rally were untrue. He said that people were coming to the rally because of their affiliation with the party and for no other reasons. "It is not our [PPP] culture to direct patwaris and government officials to bring people by force to such kind of events," he said.
Traffic and secuirty
The police have verbally instructed roadside cart-venders and shopkeepers near the Quaid's mazaar to not be open for businesses from Friday evening as part of their security and traffic arrangements for the PPP rally on Saturday.
Automobile shop owners on the New MA Jinnah Road told The Express Tribune that police officials of the area told them not to open their showrooms or tyre shops on Friday and Saturday. "The traffic police's check post in charge came to my shop and told me to keep my shop closed on Friday evening and Saturday," said 27-year-old Nahyaan, owner of Pak Tyre World near the People Secretariat Chowrangi on New MA Jinnah Road.
Abdul Wahid, who sells burgers and juice on the road, hopes that he will be allowed to work on the day of the rally. "The traffic police told me to keep my business closed from Friday evening but it would be good for the participants if I was working on the day because they can buy food or drinks when they get hungry."
High alert
The Sindh home secretary, Dr Niaz Ali Abbasi, has directed the city's main hospitals to remain on high alert on October 18. Dr Abbasi also issued instructions to IGP Sindh and Karachi Commissioner to ensure that the rally is carried out peacefully according to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2014.
COMMENTS (16)
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Jeeyay Bhutto Jeeyay Bilawal Love PPP
Extremely shameful to see how the public resources, time, money etc are being wasted. Are we heading to the lowest ebb as morally corrupt people? Are these actions to strip people from there civic liberties and rights justified? Are we living in 21st century or stone age? The big question is what Pakistan will achieve through all this? Is this Quid-e-Azam's Pakistan? If these things continue, I am afraid of a huge brain drain from Pakistan in the near future-leaving behind a debt-ridden Ethiopia or Somalia like country. I think it is time that we should actively participate and join hands with the forces of CHANGE before its too late.
Mecca ke kasam, Bilawal is the last hope for the poor if pakistan ... JiyeBhutto
@Liberal_Pak: The party has been in power approximately seven years..... can you tell the difference where Sindh was in 2008 and where it now..... looting and extortion at its height is the only progress.
This is jokes....These so called 150,000 people are being forced to come from rural area of sindh....Zaradi have desortyed Pakistan's economy now its junior 10%'s turn to loot Pakistan!!
There goes the VVIP mantra again...ordinary people from seaview side, VVIP from Quaid`s VIP gate..? when these politicians claim to be peoples representative, why do they disconnect as soon as they get elected & try to remain aloof like un-touchable...? IK / TuQ dharna never had such arrangement ?
Why not bus in all flood affectees as well?. That way baby bhutto can say his party actually did something for them, despite the PPP being in govt in this province
It seems the whole police and other state machinery of Sindh is busy catering to the in any way bring awam in any way possible. He is not even a Government official and they are spending government money like if it is their own. What can we say when we have a CM like Mr Shah who thinks that people who died while drinking over eid as Martyrs. The whole Sindh Govenment is an inefficient, corrupt and a disastrous government for the people of this province. I hope us the people get the courage to rise up and question them for such a bad service given by public servants.
Drama all over again
Please no more Sogs
Hope Bilawal Zardari is not paying for all the use of government resources / security etc. etc.
He will sit on throne and watch few gladiators fight to death. the loser gladiators will be fed to lions.
People from whole Pakistan will come. PPP is party of Awam. Whole Karachi will sing the songs of peace, progressivism, and liberal ideals. People will forget all previous Jalsas by any party. Only PPP can pull crowds from around the country, that is why PPP is called as the chain of federation. Extremists must be defeated and liberals of Pakistan must unite for powerful progressive Pakistan.
This excerpt from above pretty much tells what baby bhutto and PPP is all about "ordinary citizens will enter the jalsa from the Sea Breeze side while the VVIPs will be able to enter through the mazaar’s VVIP gate adjacent to the chowrangi"
Only 150,000 people? Only Nisar Khuro will bring that much from Education Ministry.
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Pluto* This quote sums up the the mentality of our people who are being bullied for decades by these group of tyrants and still happily follow them.
comedy of the year, BBZ urdu accent.