PTI runner-up doesn’t live to see party gain grounds in NA-246

Amir Sharjil was the only Christian candidate in 2013

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Amir Sharjil, who was the runner-up in the 2013 elections on NA-246, must be looking down from the heavens and smiling.

An area, where Sharjil could not openly campaign for his seat, hosted a rally on Sunday. With Altaf Hussain’s portraits on buildings nearby, PTI chief Imran Khan was able to joke about the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief. Two years ago, Sharjil could not have imagined this and would have been truly happy had he lived to see this day.

“Amir, teray ghar kay pass hua hai PTI ka jalsa. Tu khush hai na? [Amir, the PTI rally took place near your house. Are you happy?]” said his wife, Riffat. Sharjil, the only Christian candidate contesting the 2013 elections from Karachi, died from liver failure in September last year.

The husband and wife lived for years at Ayesha Manzil. Riffat moved to a small, modest house inside a church compound in Saddar, one year ago. She calls him the person behind the ‘tabdeeli’ in Karachi politics and especially in the NA-246 constituency.

“We never had imagined that he would be getting 31,000 votes against the MQM,” she admitted.

True enough, when Sharjil chatted with The Express Tribune a day before the general elections, he had expressed hope of winning not more than 3,000 votes. The constituency, which includes areas of Liaquatabad and FB Area, is home to the residence of Altaf Hussain that now serves as the headquarters of the party. But come the 2013 general elections, the dynamics of the area changed. An unknown Christian candidate ended up clinching 31,875 votes coming in second place to Nabil Gabol, who was part of the MQM then.

Thursday’s by-polls for the seat vacated by Gabol have stirred up memories and emotions in Sharjil’s household. Recalling Sharjil’s limited campaign, his wife becomes tearful. “He could not do much campaigning due to fear,” she said. “And I would say to him that no one can set foot in the Jinnah Ground. How can you stand against them?” A tax accountant, Sharjil, joined the PTI in 2010, as he was inspired by Imran Khan. He believed that change will come when mindsets change. The 43-year-old was honoured when he received the party ticket and had planned to uplift the Christian community.

“If he had been alive today, he would have been famous,” said his wife. “No one from the opposition has ever gotten that many votes in this constituency.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2015.