Pakistan’s political crisis threatens to boil over – EPN visited Karachi’s politicized slum, where even the police never ventured before

KARACHI Teenage boys in blue school uniforms walk past a building covered in bullet holes.

On the street, an old man wearing a turban watches the chaotic traffic, leaning against a wall full of political posters.

– This is not a good area, let’s go, the taxi driver shouts.

We are in Lyari, a notorious slum in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. The country’s political and ethnic tensions have erupted in violence on the streets of Karachi for decades.

The most violent has been right here in Lyari. Politicians became embroiled in gang violence, making Lyari an area where even the police did not always venture. Since 2013, paramilitary forces slowly gained control of the area and gang bosses were put behind bars.

Nowhere in Pakistan is politics as strongly present as in Lyari. The district is politically divided. In one area, people are watching from the posters Benazir Bhutto son, the current foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto a smiling face, on the other hand it’s blowing Imran Khan’s PTI party flags.

So, if anywhere, the political tensions should show up here.

Now the political situation causes uncertainty again: former prime minister and cricket star Imran Khan was voted out of power in April by a vote of no confidence. The former prime minister came to power of Nawaz Sharif my brother by Shehbaz Sharif coalition government led by

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party now accuses the ruling parties of corruption and the United States of conspiring with the country’s powerful military.

This is a big change from before. Khan was seen to have come to power in 2018 precisely because of the army. Now he seems to have fallen out of favor with the generals who ruled the country for more than half of its existence.

No prime minister in Pakistan’s history has managed to stay in power for a full term. In May, Khan marched with thousands of supporters to the capital, Islamabad, where the demonstration turned violent.

Khan calls for early elections. The party’s leaders have feared that the situation could even escalate into a civil war.

At least there are no signs of a possible civil war on the streets of Karachi yet. The city is a microcosm of Pakistan – the metropolis of more than 16 million inhabitants is home to immigrants, where different ethnic groups have to fight for political and economic power.

For a long time, political parties had their own armed divisions in Karachi. People were kidnapped, political opponents were killed by assassins, and bodies appeared on street corners.

Lyari is especially home to people belonging to the Baluchi minority and the Afro-Asian Siddi community.

The residents of Lyari have traditionally voted for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), or the party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. Khan, on the other hand, has support, especially among the middle class and Pakistan’s Pathan minority.

Yet surprisingly in the 2018 elections, Khan’s party PTI won in Lyari. It was a relative newcomer to a political field long saturated with violence.

Locals say that most of the votes Khan got came from the youth.

– The new generation believed in the change promised by Khan, says Sabeer Ahmadfounder of an educational organization called Dreams of Youth Welfare Society.

Colorfully painted houses peek out from the middle of the winding narrow streets. “Dream Street,” reads the sign. Here, Ahmad has been teaching Lyari children and youth school subjects, art and professional skills for almost 11 years.

In the past, schools were often closed due to violence.

Children and young people had no future prospects, and many drifted into gangs. This was also the case for Ahmad more than ten years ago.

– One of my friends often hung out with a big gang boss. I started to befriend this person myself. But thank God I ended up in social work. It happened differently to my friend.

Ahmad’s work has saved many young people from gangs.

Now children and young people are excitedly playing drums and dancing in the street. The talents emerging from the slums give hope to people: in recent years, Lyari has become known for rappers, boxers and football players instead of violence.

However, the end of the violence was not due to Khan, but to the Pakistani security forces. Not many dare to talk about the next election.

– I don’t want to say anything about this. People here still see politics in very black and white terms, 22 years old Abdul Haseeb says.

In March, a violent mob attacked the house of an MP belonging to Khan’s party in Lyari.

Many people associate the old parties in the slums with violence in addition to corruption. Yet the parties still seem to have support: on a street corner, a crowd gathers around an armored black SUV. People are cheering.

Lyari, a PPP politician known for his violent political designs, appears from behind the tinted glasses Nabil Gabolin of a boy Nadir face.

However, people further afield say that none of the politicians have paid attention to Lyari’s problems. Water still doesn’t come out of the taps regularly, drug use is increasing and there are no jobs to be had.

A 24-year-old butcher in the bazaar Muhammad Asif Quraishi says the change Khan promised did not happen. He does not believe in the new government either.

– Let’s see what they do. If they do a good job, fine.

Quraishi believes that Khan’s party would be a better option than the old parties.

– He is an honest leader. He should be given another chance, says Quraishi.

The members of Khan’s party still ended up being equally old faces embroiled in corruption scandals. In Lyari too, many politicians just switched sides and jumped on Khan’s bandwagon.

Amina Ajani, 70, is the mother of six grown children. He lives on the edge of the bazaar and wanders around talking to the locals all day long.

– Politicians promise change, but nothing happens. The prices just go up, he updates.

The economic crisis has worsened since the departure of the Khan government, partly due to the war in Ukraine. Experts have warned that Pakistan is alarmingly close to Sri Lanka’s fate.

Ajani says that people are only worried about getting food on the table. He is not interested in political twists and turns.

– Whoever comes to power next, if they just lower the prices, that’s good.

Khan’s party, on the other hand, believes that the common people are firmly on their side. In July, the party won important regional elections in the most populous Punjab province.

In Lyari, it is fervently hoped that armed conflicts will not return.

– The violence touched us all. It’s over now, but something about it has remained in our hearts, says Ajani.

You can discuss the topic until Thursday, August 11 at 11 p.m.