06-03-2006, 06:38 AM
Saturday, June 03, 2006
When Push(tun) comes to shove, they rally
By Aziz Sanghur
KARACHI: As planned, the Pukhtoon Action Committee (Loya Jirga) held a rally Friday by calling out hundreds of rickshaws, trucks, buses and minibuses to parade from Lasbella Chowk to the Karachi Press Club, virtually bringing life at the center of the city to a standstill from 4:00 p.m. till dusk.
The rally stretched nearly 10 kilometres long and ran opposite the flow of traffic. Traffic was blocked for hours at all the main points to Saddar - Lucky Star, Metropole hotel, Zainab market, all of I. I. Chundrigar Road.
The rally was called for three main reasons all related to the grievances of the Pashto-speaking people of Karachi; they are being evicted from settlements where they have been living since Partition, Pashto-speaking students without Karachi-based matriculation certificates are denied admission to government institutions and Pashto-speaking transporters who control a vast majority of the public transport system are being harassed by the traffic police.
The rally started from Lasbela Chowk at 4:00 pm and reached the Karachi press club at 5:30 p.m. The people who took part in the rally festooned their vehicles with red flags and others hoisted high banners with slogans. 'Stop demolition of katchi abadis', 'We want protection from the authorities' and 'Halt army action in Wana and Balochistan'.
The flags of several political and nationalist parties were waving: Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League, Awami National Party, Pakhtoon Khawa Mili Awami Party, Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Pakhtoon Students Federation. Portraits of Wali Khan, Bacha Khan, Benazir Bhutto and Mehmood Achakzai were also seen dotting the parade.
Pakhtoon Loya Jirga president Syed Shahi led the rally which was so large that there wasn't space to breathe outside the Karachi Press Club. Thousands of participants had to remain content with staying on Zaibunnissa Street outside the Pakistan Coast Guard's Mess, in front of the YMCA ground.
Speakers said that the Pathan was the founder of the city which had been built with his hands. But now they were living like third-class citizens. Pakhtoon populated areas were being razed by the city district government without any reason or prior notice, the speakers said.
More than 3.5 million Pashto-speaking people are being threatened by the Sindh and city district governments. "It is a peaceful rally and the government should learn a lesson from it. Out next step would be to surround Governor House and Chief Minister House, if the government does not address our problems," said Syed Shahi.
The government should regularize all informal settlements where thousands of the Pashto-speaking people have been living since the inception of the country, he added. "Four generations of Pathans live in the city. We are not new; we are not strangers. We built this city."
He said that the authorities had demolished a large number of localities, including Jumma Goth, Sikandar Goth, Mansehra Colony, Bilal Colony, Allahwallah Colony, Gulshan-e-Bunnair, Abdul Rehman Goth, Ramzan Goth.
"Pakhtoon students are facing a lot of problems. They are not allowed to enroll in government educational institutions because they did not possess Karachi-based matriculation certificates," said Amin Khattak, a leader of the Loya Jirga. Most the Pashto-speaking students come from the NWFP and Balochistan after passing their matric examinations, but the present government issued an order that Pakhtoon students should not be enrolled in the city's colleges and universities.
When Push(tun) comes to shove, they rally
By Aziz Sanghur
KARACHI: As planned, the Pukhtoon Action Committee (Loya Jirga) held a rally Friday by calling out hundreds of rickshaws, trucks, buses and minibuses to parade from Lasbella Chowk to the Karachi Press Club, virtually bringing life at the center of the city to a standstill from 4:00 p.m. till dusk.
The rally stretched nearly 10 kilometres long and ran opposite the flow of traffic. Traffic was blocked for hours at all the main points to Saddar - Lucky Star, Metropole hotel, Zainab market, all of I. I. Chundrigar Road.
The rally was called for three main reasons all related to the grievances of the Pashto-speaking people of Karachi; they are being evicted from settlements where they have been living since Partition, Pashto-speaking students without Karachi-based matriculation certificates are denied admission to government institutions and Pashto-speaking transporters who control a vast majority of the public transport system are being harassed by the traffic police.
The rally started from Lasbela Chowk at 4:00 pm and reached the Karachi press club at 5:30 p.m. The people who took part in the rally festooned their vehicles with red flags and others hoisted high banners with slogans. 'Stop demolition of katchi abadis', 'We want protection from the authorities' and 'Halt army action in Wana and Balochistan'.
The flags of several political and nationalist parties were waving: Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League, Awami National Party, Pakhtoon Khawa Mili Awami Party, Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Pakhtoon Students Federation. Portraits of Wali Khan, Bacha Khan, Benazir Bhutto and Mehmood Achakzai were also seen dotting the parade.
Pakhtoon Loya Jirga president Syed Shahi led the rally which was so large that there wasn't space to breathe outside the Karachi Press Club. Thousands of participants had to remain content with staying on Zaibunnissa Street outside the Pakistan Coast Guard's Mess, in front of the YMCA ground.
Speakers said that the Pathan was the founder of the city which had been built with his hands. But now they were living like third-class citizens. Pakhtoon populated areas were being razed by the city district government without any reason or prior notice, the speakers said.
More than 3.5 million Pashto-speaking people are being threatened by the Sindh and city district governments. "It is a peaceful rally and the government should learn a lesson from it. Out next step would be to surround Governor House and Chief Minister House, if the government does not address our problems," said Syed Shahi.
The government should regularize all informal settlements where thousands of the Pashto-speaking people have been living since the inception of the country, he added. "Four generations of Pathans live in the city. We are not new; we are not strangers. We built this city."
He said that the authorities had demolished a large number of localities, including Jumma Goth, Sikandar Goth, Mansehra Colony, Bilal Colony, Allahwallah Colony, Gulshan-e-Bunnair, Abdul Rehman Goth, Ramzan Goth.
"Pakhtoon students are facing a lot of problems. They are not allowed to enroll in government educational institutions because they did not possess Karachi-based matriculation certificates," said Amin Khattak, a leader of the Loya Jirga. Most the Pashto-speaking students come from the NWFP and Balochistan after passing their matric examinations, but the present government issued an order that Pakhtoon students should not be enrolled in the city's colleges and universities.