KARACHI – The residents of Lyari are furious at their MNA Nabeel Gabol. Not only did thousands of them protest against him on Saturday, they also paraded pictures of Gabol on a donkey.
“In 2008, we had made a ‘jazbaati’ (emotional) decision to vote for Nabeel Gabol,” Shakeeb Baloch from the Lyari Amn Committee told Pakistan Today. “We had, in fact, voted for the PPP and our Shaheed, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto; not Gabol. The 86,000 people whose votes brought him into power had pinned their hopes on the PPP.
They were against Gabol even then, but he was the only PPP candidate from the area. Today, however, we believe we made the wrong decision.” In the intervening years since the 2008 national elections, the PPP leadership constantly asked the people of Lyari to ‘wait’ for change.
“We took their word for it and hoped that Gabol would change, and things would improve in Lyari. It didn’t happen, and matters have been deteriorating with speed,” Baloch said. Gabol’s resignation was followed by widespread celebrations in Lyari.
The primary reason for his resignation, however, according to sources close to Gabol, was a tiff with Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan. That was eventually resolved, and on Saturday, the people of Lyari were told that Gabol had rescinded his resignation.
“We had been planning a celebratory rally and were also demanding that he resign not just as a minister, but also as MNA,” Baloch said. “Then we got news that he had taken his resignation back. The rally on Saturday, therefore, was a procession of mourning against these developments.”
Members of the Lyari Amn Committee had appealed to people to show ‘awami’ strength against Gabol. “We told them that if 86,000 people voted him into power, at least the same number should take to the streets to display their grievances,” sources said. “On Saturday, thankfully, many more than 86,000 residents came out openly against him.
The mandate was given to Gabol by the people. Only they have the right to decide if his resignation should be rescinded; no one else can make that decision, and the people of Lyari have shown that they want Gabol out, not just from ministership, but also the National Assembly.”
