The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) likes to refer to Lyaris [now defunct] Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) as a group of gangsters. The MQMs own gun-toting cadres, on the other hand, are identified as political activists. In marking this division, however, politicos ignore the systemic violence that has been the bane of Lyaris existence for decades; as such, they give too much credence to middle class morality at the expense of objectivity. In the multiple narratives that define Karachi, the story of Lyari is particularly heartbreaking and significant in that it portrays the incredible resilience and fighting spirit of the residents of this largely ignored locality.
Lyari has never been particularly rich; much of it is lower-middle class or middle class at the most. What they lacked in resources, the people of Lyari made up for with the sheer amount of football, boxing and musical talent that they produced. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the area was also known as one of the centres of progressive and leftist politics in Karachi. While the residents could not compete for jobs with those who had access to better education opportunities and resources, they managed to gain employment in various government sectors through those organisations sports teams football in particular and learned other skills on-the-job.
Then Gen Zia-ul-Haq happened, and these sports teams were abolished; and given the sorry state of state-sponsored education on which residents of the area primarily relied, many Lyari wallahs were deprived of legal means of income. Youngsters who saw no way out of the quagmire started selling drugs, running weapons and helping local gangsters administrate gambling dens not an easy job by any stretch of imagination, but one that at least ensured food on the table. The groups split, and then split further, converting this once-progressive area into a turf over which multiple gangs battled. Unable, or perhaps unwilling to stop the violence, successive governments continued to leave Lyari to its fate while urging the residents to vote for them.
The people stayed true to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), though, not because the party had done anything special for them yet, but because of loyalties to Benazir Bhutto. Most of the young jiyalas who had formed a security ring around Benazir on 18 October 2007, when she first returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-exile, were from Lyari. Many of them died or were maimed in the twin bomb attacks that night. But Lyari did not waiver. Four months later, they voted for the PPP again in the February 2008 general elections, even as the apathy of the powers-that-be increased the dependence of the people of the area on gang leaders who wooed them with, amongst other things, their philanthropy. One group, under Rehman Baloch (known more dramatically as Rehman Dakait), had the support of residents of the area due to his social undertakings in the area. The others were allegedly patronised by elements, who, according to residents, wished to disrupt peace in Lyari.
In August 2009, Rehman Baloch was gunned down. The police claimed that he was killed in an encounter. His wife and supporters maintained that the attack was unprovoked, and that, Rehman Baloch was murdered. While celebrations marked the official narrative around this episode, the residents of Lyari mourned the death of their benefactor.
As such, Rehman Balochs death dealt the people of Lyari a heavy blow, but was also a turning point in their decades-long battle against systemic violence: they decided to finally take matters into their own hands. The PAC, through which Rehman Baloch had conducted his philanthropic activities, was revived under suave, politically-astute Uzair Baloch. The turf was reclaimed and gang-battles subsided. Soon after, the MQM tried to make some political headway in the area, and was confronted by the PAC. With both sides armed and neither hesitating to pull the trigger, the number of bodies mounted. The MQM went running to the PPP, which, already hemmed in from multiple sides, eventually caved.
In mid-March this year, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza claimed that the PAC was officially banned. What actually happened was that all PAC cadres were inducted into the PPP; PAC offices were now PPP unit offices. It was decided that Uzair Baloch would be given a PPP ticket to run for the Assembly seats from the area. Apparently, it seems that everyone has won: the PPP has retained its most important vote-bank in Karachi; and thanks to the MQM (albeit indirectly), the beleaguered people of Lyari finally have direct access to political decision-makers while remaining true to the PPP. As to whether this victory will translate into a sustained happy ending for the people of Lyari, however, remains to be seen.