The rally: ANP is the biggest loser

Credit where it is due, the PTI hit all the right notes for the two or three generations that had filled the venue. Anti-Zardari, mild suggestion of anti-MQM, the slogan of clamping down on corruption, including the promise of filling up the coffers by retrieving money from corrupt politicians – all were the right albeit very general notes for the kind of audience the PTI wanted to draw in: either completely apolitical, or with very direct political grievances.

A large section in the audience wasn’t politicised hitherto; even if their demands of change are framed in abstract terms now, the nature of these demands is nonetheless political. This was a section tired of the intrusive politics of both the PPP and the MQM in Karachi; this was a section that pays its taxes without fail but never reaps any benefit from the money it gives to the government; this was a section that has witnessed the exploitation of “terrorism” to mean newer and shinier cars, greater and longer security protocols, and barricading of busy and important thoroughfares. Most Karachiites do not want to see “others” or enemies in neighbours and co-workers that usually exist peacefully; sometimes, this becomes the norm in Karachi due to the culture created and perpetuated by the larger parties.

For these people’s need to find some peace and normalcy in their everyday lives makes that search for a messiah, even for a jalsa, understandable and even justifiable.

And then there was a section of Pashtun youth, disenchanted with the policies of the ANP. Neither has the ANP been able to effectively safeguard their ethnic rights nor has it been able to benefit them in the way, say, a Shahi Syed has benefitted. Common street knowledge in Karachi is that Syed managed to set up businesses in Dubai, in partnerships and with the help of foes and friends alike – all in the letter and spirit of the policy of reconciliation.

With the demolition of the Pakistan Railways in progress under ANP’s minister, Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, road traffic businesses have witnessed increased sales. Only that the profit is for those politically connected, and not the ordinary Pashtun youngster. Combined with the ANP’s seemingly toothless behaviour and political impotence to rebuilding areas supposedly cleaned up by the military, the common Pashtun has now been presented with a very viable alternative to the ANP.

In truth, while those in attendance at the Karachi rally may be assumed as genuine voters, the PTI will only be able to take firm root in Karachi if it cuts into the vote bank of existing parties – people who not only go out to vote, but also ensure themselves that their vote matters. It is one thing to ride on the waves of public sentiment and popular rallies, quite another to ensure that the popularity translates into votes that count.

Being “Pakistani” is an innocent and idealistic fascination in the context of Karachi’s politics. Given the party’s manoeuvrings elsewhere, we must assume that the PTI is mindful of Karachi’s dynamics. On a practical level, cutting into neighbourhoods that are staunchly defined in terms of PPP or MQM loyalties will almost be impossible. Put another way, the PPP’s Sindhi-speaking and Balochi-speaking vote bank in Karachi remains unaffected, and the MQM’s Urdu-speaking following in Karachi remain loyal to their parties. The major groups left are the Pashtuns and Punjabis, neither of whom have been antagonistic towards each other, and the Memons and Gujaratis.

It is the first group that should be of high interest to the PTI, mainly because they don’t form the majority of the PPP’s or the MQM’s constituents. As a result, contesting political space is not going to be a violent process. With news of dissension being made very public from within the ANP’s ranks, there is also speculation that part of the ANP’s militant wing in Karachi wants to part ways with the party. If these rumours are indeed true and they end up joining the PTI, Imran Khan would have fulfilled one of the basic necessities of operating in Karachi.

What did sit uncomfortably was PTI’s overuse of religious terminology: religion is used and overused as an argument only in circumstances where belief is on shaky grounds. It is a reaffirmation of sorts, that an honourable “Pakistani” identity is still Muslim. That car stickers claiming ‘Victory in Afghan Jehad’ were being distributed but no one was present to wish the Christian support a Merry Christmas is damning: we are still creating exclusionary parties and cultures. The need for continuous theological affirmation points to the kind of social spaces that will be allowed or created if the PTI were to form a government. Such spaces are usually fascist in nature. Are we prepared for a fascist revolution?

The writer is a Karachi-based journalist. Connect with him on Twitter @ASYusuf