Rally arrangements: PPP all set to hold jalsa in Lyari

Party’s top leadership expected to visit party stronghold after a long time.

KARACHI: Arrangements and preparations seemed to be on full swing for the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) public gathering at Kakri Ground, Lyari, scheduled for Sunday.

The top leadership will visit the party stronghold after a long time but amid tight security. The gathering aims to target Lyari alone.

PPP expects a warm welcome and a huge presence of supporters from the area on the ground, which is located on Pitcher Road, just a few minutes away from Karachi Port Trust.

On the other hand, Lyari residents who still seem to be angry with the PPP leadership and indifferent to the jalsa, expect important announcements for the troubled area of the city. Local leaders of Lyari expect announcements pertaining to jobs, development projects and making Lyari the seventh district of Karachi.

Security arrangements

Keeping the sensitivity of the area in mind, a large number of police personnel were deployed around the venue on Friday. Senior police officials, including Javed Jiskani, Fida Hussain, Nasir Aftab, Pir Mohammad Shah and Tarik Dharejo, have also been tasked to look after the security measures around the venue of the public meeting.



“The deployment is more than the requirement due to multiple threats,” said SSP Dharejo. He said that policemen will also be deployed in different areas of Lyari to ensure security for the residents during the gathering.

According to police officials, around 6,000 policemen are being deployed for security. “The extraordinary security arrangements are because of the volatile situation in Lyari,” said Dharejo.

Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali, Karachi additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebo and other high-ranking police officials visited the venue on Friday and discussed the security arrangements.

Decorated camps, clean Lyari

Over a dozen camps have been set up in different areas, including ICI Bridge, Khadda Market, Mirza Adam Khan Road, Gul Muhammad Lane and Cheel Chowk. Large boards, party flags and banners are on display across Lyari.

The main road towards the venue from ICI Bridge has been repaired during the last 24 hours while areas near the ground have also been cleaned.

Commenting on the clean roads of the area, a resident, Muhammad Siddique, said that he wished PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari could visit Lyari once a year. “I haven’t seen clean roads all my life but today,” he said. Siddique said that he was waiting for someone to resolve the water issue of the area. “The piles of garbage still exist in areas away from the venue,” he added.

The ground

The length of the stage is 60 feet and the width is 30 feet. Barbed wires have also been fixed around the stage. The ground cannot accommodate more than 50,000 persons. Portraits of party leaders, flags and banners adorn the premises.

PPP has not invited its workers from other districts of the province. “We expect a huge crowd from within Lyari,” said PPP Karachi division information secretary Lateef Mughal. “The focus of the gathering is also Lyari.” He said that jiyalas from different parts of Karachi are however expected to attend the rally. “It’s a small ground and we can’t invite all our workers.”

Mughal said that the people of Lyari have been facing a number of issues such as gangsters. “The party didn’t arrange an event in this area for the last seven years,” he said.

According to MNA Shahjahan Baloch, Lyari has been projected as a ‘bad area’ of Karachi. “This negative image has affected our youth,” he said, adding that despite differences with the leadership, the people of Lyari will participate in the jalsa with traditional fervour. “I expect a historical gathering tomorrow.”

No entry for Gabol

Regarding unconfirmed reports of former Lyari MNA Nabeel Gabol re-joining the party, PPP leaders told The Express Tribune that Gabol will not be welcomed back in the party. “The top leadership believes he is not a fair person,” said a party leader requesting anonymity. “Zardari sahib doesn’t like him either. The people of Lyari don’t want him anymore.”  Another party leader said that there is no ‘say’ of Gabol in the area now. “He is no more a favourite of the party,” he said, adding the popularity graph of Gabol has decreased and he is being backed by a criminal group.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2015.