KARACHI: Mainly to gain a foothold in Karachi and mobilize its cadres in the metropolis for the upcoming election challenges, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) got a big push to push its rally on Sunday at Bagh-e-Jinnah on Saturday. Got a political opportunity. The federal government on Sunday (today) raised petrol prices, raising hopes of leaders of the major opposition party about the success of its power show and the fall of the Imran Khan-led government at the Centre.
The PPP is all set to show its strength in the city, where being a ruling party, it seems easy to rally with the full support of the local administration and police.
Party leaders and workers were seen walking around the rally venue, finalizing the preparations and monitoring the security and seating arrangements.
Sindh PPP President Nisar Khuhro along with senior party workers visited the venue after sunset and was briefed about the arrangements.
Background interviews with some PPP leaders suggested that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari presided over at least two meetings within a week where he stressed the need for a stronger participation in the public meeting from Karachi Division.
Even at a meeting, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and the PPP President sent a “loud and clear” message to each participant to make the show a success with mainly Karachi’s participation.
“Unlike the rallies of 18 October, the last 14 years had been staged to mark the anniversary of the 2007 Karsaz bombing on Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming convoy, this time he [Mr Bhutto-Zardari] The Karachi division wants to contribute more,” said a PPP leader.
“All the previous rallies have always been successful, but this includes participation from across Sindh and even from different cities in the country. The PPP president believes that Karachi has great potential and the rally should show the party’s following.
The success in the recent Cantonment Board elections and the victory of the PPP candidates in the by-elections had lifted the spirits of the PPP leadership, which found it high time to fill the political ‘void’ of Karachi, which became wider at that time. When was the most popular party ever. He said the city had come under the radar of the security establishment after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement raided its headquarters Nine Zero in March 2015 and then in August 2016 after its founder Altaf Hussain’s speech.
At Bagh-e-Jinnah, amidst police protection and the help of the local administration, a large number of excited youth and ruling party workers were preparing for a rally against the PTI government.
Huge sized speakers were being loaded onto several trucks to support the sound system so that they could be mounted at various places in the ground.
Backstage, a handful of young people were busy fixing a bunch of strings so that they could be attached to the panels of the sound and music system being installed along the stage.
Visuals of electrification emerged on the stage when the lighting system was finally approved by local leaders. A local leader told Dawn, “The stage is ready and the PPP is also ready.”
“We are arranging chairs,” said Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani, who is also the city president of the PPP.
Published in Dawn, October 17, 2021