Political campaigning comes to a halt as football fever engulfs Lyari

(Arab News photos)

• Lyari, the oldest town in Karachi inhabited by 2.5 million people, has more than 100 football clubs
• Around 300 big screens have been set up in the town, where hundreds of fans come to watch their favorite teams play

KARACHI: With less than a month left until Pakistan’s general elections, political parties have been unable to start their campaigning in one of the city’s most politicized towns, Lyari — not, for once, due to warring gangs — but due to FIFA World Cup-inspired football fever.
Lyari, the oldest town in Karachi, is known for its love for football and boxing. Warring gangs, however, had made it no-go area for many, law enforcement officials included.
It was reported that in March 2013, Sardar Uzair Jan Baloch, a gang leader now being detained by the government, and his associates, played football using the severed head of rival gang leader Arshad Pappu, in one of the town’s main football grounds.
After the deterioration of law and order in Lyari, area was finally freed from gang violence after a third clean-up attempt.
Football and boxing, however, were always refuges for those trying to steer away from becoming gang members.
But now it is the FIFA World Cup, not gang violence, that has halted political activities in the area, local activists have reported.
Shahid Shehenshai, a worker for the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), a former security guard to the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, confirmed that political parties have been unable to start their election drive in the town.
“Political activists are clueless as how to conduct their campaigns here. When we call someone telling them about our proposed visit plan, we are told not to come or to come the next day – a tomorrow that never comes,” said Shehenshai.
Maula Bux Baloch, general secretary of the Azad Muslim Football club, who has fought for election as an independent candidate, said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if, God forbid, someone dies and fans ask the deceased’s family to postpone the funeral until after the match. Many fans who are invited to wedding receptions never even bother showing up.”
He asked: “Do you really think the people of Lyari will listen to political leaders at a time when their favorite teams are playing?”
“Lyariites are political people and they don’t love politics less, they just love football more, and if you ask them to choose between the two – they will pick football,” Arshad Ameer, a local leader of the the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), told Arab News.
Ameer added that peace has returned to Lyari and the town will witness great political activities, but not until after July 15, when the World Cup is over. 
“Gangs never stopped anyone from political campaigning during the previous general polls, but people were so scared that they could hardly run their campaigns,” he said.
Raheem Baloch, another local resident, said that the only the PPP ran a campaign in 2013. “Now when the gangs are not around, the field is open for all,” he said.
“Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) was the first to hold a jalsa (rally) in the area, but it was before the start of the World Cup. When Shehbaz Sharif held a public gathering most of those present were outsiders who rallied here along with other PML-N leaders from other localities of the city,” said Abu-Bakr Baloch, a local journalist.
“No party has started its political campaign yet; there are no corner meetings and no door-to-door campaigns have taken place either, let alone the big public gatherings in which political parties show their muscle,” he said.
Abu-Bakr added that approximately 300 screens have been installed in the area, where nearly 500 residents turn up to watch the matches.
Maula Bux Bloch claimed that of the 153 football clubs in Karachi’s district south, well over 100 in Lyari, and every major club fixed a huge screen. Bux added that women as well as men of all ages were following the World Cup.
“When matches are being played, my wife and other women of our family are all glued to the TV sets at home,” Bux told Arab News.
“Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Portugal and France are favorites for Lyariites. A number of people also support Saudi Arabia,” said Ibrahim Gulab, a former football player from the Moosa Lane area. He said that when a match ends, the winning team’s supporters take to the streets to celebrate the victory.
“Earlier, if a street in Lyari was dark, people would turn back for fear of entering a gang area. Now, when all the street lights are switched off and there is complete darkness, it means football fans have setup a big screen to watch the World Cup matches,” Baloch said.