Land-grabbers trying to give conflict ethnic spin: Karachi

[LahoreEstate]

Monday, March 30, 2009
By M. Waqar Bhatti

Karachi

The recently inaugurated road connecting North Nazimabad to Qasba colony while facilitating commuters of the vicinity has resulted in increasing violence and a deteriorating law and order situation in the entire area.

Ever since the formal inauguration of the hill-cutting road, ethnic violence and armed clashes between activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have become routine.

A visit to the area and interviews with the local people in both localities revealed that people belonging to both Pakhtoon and Urdu-speaking communities were suffering at the hands of these two groups, who have their own agendas and motives behind triggering the ethnic violence in the area.

“Land grabbing is the basic issue over which both these groups are fighting but they are trying to give the feud an ethnic colour. Both Pakhtoons and Urdu-speaking people want to live peacefully in this area and they have nothing to do with these clashes,” Arshad Hussain, a resident of North Nazimabad Block Q, said. He admitted, however, that since the opening of the road, residents of North Nazimabad blocks Q and R have become insecure, not only owing to clashes between the two armed groups but also due to increasing incidents of street crime.

North Nazimabad Union Council (UC)-2 Nazim Perwaiz Wali expressed similar views. “I’m a Pakhtoon but I have no doubts in saying that both these groups (ANP and MQM) are exploiting the sentiments of their respective communities. There is an apartment complex nearby, and both groups want to occupy it. This is the actual reason of violence in the area and has nothing do with ethnicity,” he said.

Wali further said that the road served no purpose other than provide logistical support to drug-peddlers, land-grabbers and criminals, providing them easy access to peaceful areas of North Nazimabad. “The only solution to this problem is strict administrative action against criminals. The police and the Rangers should be given a free hand to deal with criminals, otherwise they will continue to fight, and common people will suffer more,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Amir Zareen, the Naib Nazim of the same UC (also the ANP District Central vice president), has an entirely different story to tell. According to him, the area is a Pakhtoon dominated locality where a large number of ANP activists, supporters and voters live. “On March 17, MQM activists erased ANP graffiti and painted their party slogans in the area. This matter went to the police, and MQM seniors apologised before SP North Nazimabad Nasir Qureshi for their party workers’ act. The very next day, however, MQM activists came again and not only chanted slogans against us but also hoisted their flags,” he claimed.

He further said that when residents of the area protested against the activities of MQM workers, the latter resorted to aerial firing, which led to violence and armed clashes as well as attacks on police and Rangers’ personnel.

Zareen, however, rejected allegations that ANP workers were involved in the attack on rivals and law-enforcing agencies’ personnel, and said that residents of the area retaliated after assuming that their locality had been attacked by rivals.

Haider Bhatti, an official of the Shahrah-e-Noor Jahan police station, said that the issue could only be solved through political dialogue because any action by the police and Rangers will also be considered “hostile” and could cause further trouble. “We have beefed up security in the troubled area, and even deployed armed personnel on the roofs of buildings but that is a temporary arrangement. The only solution is negotiations between the rival parties and a permanent settlement to this issue,” he said.

People living on both sides of the road as well as those living on the hill say law enforcing agencies should take strict action against land-grabbers and criminals irrespective of their political affiliation, otherwise the law and order situation in the area would deteriorate further.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=169918