 [DAWN] Once a major stakeholder in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
’s politics, the Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society , founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer . The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI), a component of the five-party Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance, has found itself reduced to only one provincial assembly seat in the 2018 general elections.
Arguably, its peak time in the electoral politics was in the 2002 elections when it fought elections from the platform of the MMA and won as many as five national assembly and seven seats of the Sindh Assembly. In later years, however, different factors played their role in the erosion of the JI’s support base.
In the recent polls, the only seat that the MMA was able to bag was PS-108 in Karachi’s Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
area.
As many as 16 candidates of the MMA for 21 NA seats and 22 candidates for 44 PA seats belonged to the JI. All of them lost, except Syed Abdul Rasheed, a long-time JI activist and leader.
Those losing the elections include prominent names such as Asadullah Bhutto, Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, Mohammad Laeeq Khan, Meraj ul Huda Siddiqui, to name a few, who have been to the parliament before but failed this time.
One can see the JI’s activism on Karachi’s different civic issues including the shortage of electricity and overbilling, lack of Nadra centres, provision of water, hike in university fees and other issues. Apparently, the party’s efforts at portraying itself as an entity that fights for the rights of Karachi’s citizens have not been successful in gaining them any significant amount of votes.
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