Karachi Politics Saeed Ghani blames ethnic divisions for city’s decline since 1980s

Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani has said Karachi’s economic progress began to decline in the 1980s as ethnic and prejudicial politics took root, leading to violence and killings in the name of language and ethnicity.

Addressing a ceremony in Korangi on Sunday, Ghani said Karachi had once ranked among the world’s leading economic centres but had suffered as political divisions deepened. He called on political parties to reject hatred and work together to restore peace and promote development.

The ceremony marked the joining of a large number of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) office-bearers and workers to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). PPP Karachi Division General Secretary Rauf Ahmed Nagori, Korangi Town Chairman Muhammad Naeem Sheikh and other party leaders attended the event.

Ghani welcomed the new members, led by PML-F District Korangi Information Secretary Engineer Malik Shah Zain and Additional General Secretary Abdul Rahman Jami. Several party office-bearers and workers from multiple provincial assembly constituencies also announced their decision to join the PPP.

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The new entrants included Jami, Malik Shah Zain, District Korangi Vice President Aqeel Ansari, Joint Secretary Faisal, Haris Zia, Muhammad Arsalan Sheikh, Malik Shah Mir and Qari Saleem Azizi.

Workers and office-bearers from PS-92, PS-93, PS-94, PS-95 and PS-96 also joined the party, including former PS-95 president Akbar Chang and Dr Rajab Ali, along with their associates and women workers.

Ghani said the PPP had strengthened its position in Karachi over recent years by welcoming workers from different political parties. He said the party had kept its doors open to people from diverse political backgrounds, allowing them to take part in its activities and public-service efforts.

Citing Korangi Town Chairman Naeem Sheikh, who joined the PPP from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Ghani said former members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Jamaat-e-Islami and other parties had also joined the PPP and taken up important roles.

He attributed the party’s growing representation in Karachi to this expansion, saying it had made gains in the National Assembly, Sindh Assembly and local government elections. He said the PPP had secured the Karachi mayor’s office for the first time and won the largest number of town chairmanships in the city.

According to Ghani, the party had also won the chairmanships of Korangi and Baldia towns and secured more than 100 union councils across Karachi.

The minister accused political forces that dominated Karachi in previous periods of deliberately fuelling ethnic divisions. He argued that the PPP, by contrast, represented people from all linguistic, religious and ethnic communities rather than any single group.

He said the party’s elected representatives in parliament, provincial assemblies and local government institutions reflected Pakistan’s diverse population.

Recalling decades of violence in Karachi, Ghani claimed that 99 per cent of killings during the previous two to three decades had been carried out in the name of language or ethnicity. He said people had lost their lives because they spoke Urdu, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi or Punjabi.

These figures and allegations were presented by Ghani during his political address.

The minister acknowledged that Karachi continued to face major challenges, including shortages and problems involving water supply, sewerage, gas and electricity. However, he described hatred and ethnic prejudice as the city’s most serious underlying problem.

He said no linguistic or ethnic community should be forced to leave Karachi and argued that ending hostility between communities would help the city return to a path of development.

Ghani urged political workers from all parties to help end divisive politics, warning that efforts were again being made to revive ethnic prejudice and hatred. He said lasting progress in Karachi, Sindh and Pakistan required people to reject hostility and respect one another.

Referring to directions from PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Ghani said the party had been instructed to work towards ending hatred and prejudice in Karachi and making the city a place where people from every community could live together.

“Karachi belongs to all of us and to all political parties in the city,” he said, calling for a political culture based on mutual respect and harmony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Malik Shah Zain announced his formal departure from the PML-F and his decision to join the PPP. He said the party represented people from different linguistic and ethnic backgrounds.

Zain alleged that factionalism within the PML-F had prevented public concerns from receiving adequate attention. He said he and his associates had joined the PPP because they wanted to work for the public and help resolve local problems.

He added that more office-bearers and workers from the PML-F and other political parties were expected to join the PPP in the coming days.

Nagori welcomed the new members and assured them that the party would support their efforts to address public grievances. He said they would work alongside existing PPP workers to strengthen the party’s public-service activities.