KARACHI: PPP is unable to contest in upcoming local bodies elections in its strong hold Lyari following the frequent attacks by Lyari gangs that remains a threat for political parties.

Being the oldest area of the city and having a population of over 0.6 million people remain tense.

Lyari considered as a PPP strong hold area but without fully participation during local bodies election scheduled to be held on Decembers 5.

The area comprises of total 15 union councils having a direct election on total of 90 seats including 30 for Chairman and Vice Chairman of the union councils and 60 for ward councilors. Over 140 candidates were contesting for the chairman and vice chairman seats along with at least 207 candidates from different political parties and independent candidates contesting for the ward councilors in Lyari.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is leading all parties in fielding candidates as its candidates for Chairman and Vice Chairman in 13 union councils out of total 15 union councils, followed by PPP with 11 candidates, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz with 10 candidates and Jamaat-i-Islami with eight candidates. Awami National Party, Pasban and Pakistan Awami Tehreek had also fielded its candidates in the area.

12 Independent candidates with different symbols added by an independent candidate group with the symbol of bottle was also fighting for the seats.
Pakistan People's Party claims to have total stake of the area as it had won both the provincial and a single national assembly seat from the area. However in these local bodies elections, the party was not able to field its candidate for chairman and vice chairman in four union councils and was forced to support independent and Awami National Party candidates in the area.

The party was also not able to field its ward councilors at over 26 seats out of 60 in the area. The residents of the area cited threats from the criminal gangs and lack of support from the PPP led government in maintaining peace in the area.

"Pakistan People's Party had done nothing for the people of Lyari instead it had patronize criminals forcing massive bloodshed in the area," a local resident told The Nation adding that they sacrificed everything for the party but was not given anything n return.

Pakistan People’s Party Leader Manzoor Abbas-who is overseeing PPP electoral activities in the city- while talking to The Nation said that despite threats being hurled towards them from the gangwar elements in Lyari, they were hopeful of sweeping elections from the area.

“Lyari has always remained the stronghold of the PPP and even this time, the Lyariites were looking towards them as they had successfully initiated action against those who were disturbing peace in the area,” he said.
Abbas admitted hurdles from gang war elements in running campaign in the area and said that the PPP leaders had been attacked twice in the recent campaigns with a grenade and gun attacks on UC-8 PPP Chairman Abdul Majeed Baloch and Aslam Samoon in separate incidents.

“But we will not bow down in front of these elements and we will run our campaigns,” said the PPP leader adding that their lawmakers including Sania Naz and Shahjahan Baloch were running campaigns in the area for the party.

He further said that in case where the party had not fielded its candidates, they had supported different communities and parties. He however, denied that any party leader including Javed Nagori had fielded their candidates against the party in Lyari and said that he had no knowledge of it and strict action was taken against those who had fielded candidates in independent capacity.

It is pertinent to mention PPP MPA Javed Nagori was part of the provincial cabinet as the minister for kutchi abadis and special initiatives, however, he was forced to resign after difference with the party's Karachi leadership.

Nagori is also being sidelined in other PPP activities and was asked by the PPP leaders to refrain from attending PPP events, therefore he decided to launch his own group in the Lyari elections as independent candidates.

-No MQM candidate from Lyari-

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement that had claimed support from the Bihari and Kutchi community of the area had not fielded any candidate from the area due to threats being hurled towards them from gangwar elements.

Talking to The Nation, MQM leader Aminul Haq cited fear of gangwar elements for not fielding any candidate in the area.

“How could we endanger our party cadres in Lyari where the gangwar elements are killing people, hurling hand grenades,” he said adding that when the PPP-that claims total stake from Lyari- had not fielded its candidates from the area then how it was possible that the MQM-that had never claimed its stake in the area and had only got over 8000 votes in NA constituency- could field its candidates.

He, however, said that the party had not left the area completely and had fielded its candidates in the outskirt areas of Lyari including Usmanabad.

-----NO JI-PTI alliance in Lyari----

Jamaat-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had announced a coalition in the local bodies elections in the city, however, Lyari was exception to it as both the parties had fielded their separate candidates.

Talking to The Nation, PTI Sindh Assembly lawmaker Khurram Sher Zaman said that it was his personal decision to not go into an alliance with Jamaat-I-Islami in Lyari as they had enough of the support from the area that they could easily win from the area after taking a solo flight.
He said that the party had fielded its candidates in all union councils of the area and they were hopeful of their win from there.

Speaking about PPP dominance in the area, Zaman said that the people of the area no more wants PPP as it had given nothing except violence to the residents and their party was the only hope for the unity of the Lyariites.

“We have fielded candidates from every community of Lyari, making it a bunch of flowers,” he said.

Speaking over neglecting PTI veterans in awarding ticket of the party and instead welcoming new comers from PPP, Zaman said that it’s all about winning the election and they wanted to introduce a winning team for the elections.

Jamaat-I-Islami leader from Lyari Syed Abdul Rasheed also expressed the same opinion as of the PTI leader.

“The PTI asked for those seats from Lyari that were our stronghold in the past therefore we decided against going for the coalition,” he said adding that they had won from Lyari in past and also had a mayor-Abdul Sattar Afghani- winning from the same area.

-Nabil Gabol-
Another former PPP and MQM leader Nabil Gabol-who also announced to launch his party-- had also fielded his candidate in the local bodies election.
Nabil Gabol said that he had fielded his candidates in 10 union councils with six of them on the the symbol of bottle from UC 1 to UC 10 while two more also given ticket on remaining seats.

"We have made alliance with different parties in the union councils including the one that we have made in union council 9 with Jamaat-i-Islami," he said adding that he would himself visit Lyari and run a campaign for his candidates.

--PPP awards ticket to relative of Gangwar kingpin--

The party had also given ticket to the nephew of former gang war leader Abdul Rehman Baloch aka Rehman Dacoit.

According to a source privy to the details, the PPP had allotted ticket to the Abdul Ghafoor Baloch, who is the son of the elder brother of Abdul Rehman dacoit for the chairman of the UC-14.

The sources further said that it was due to this threat that two of the PPP candidates on general members eats won unopposed from the area while the other candidates were also not expecting any fight from the PTI and other independent candidate.

The PPP leader, Manzoor Abbas, denied awarding tickets to Lyari gangwar elements in the area and expressed his ignorance as to whether the UC-14 chairman candidate of Lyari was a relative of a slain gangwar don, Abdul Rehman Baloch aka dacoit.