KARACHI: The Hakim Said Ground in Gulshan-i-Iqbal has become a bone of contention between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) as both have announced their respective public meetings at the said venue on May 12.

PPP Karachi division president and provincial Minister for Planning and Development Saeed Ghani claimed his party had obtained permission from the deputy commissioner first for holding the meeting at the ground while PTI Karachi division president Firdaus Shamim Naqvi insisted they had chosen the venue after PPP’s announcement of holding their meeting in Baldia.

“We announced our public meeting at a press conference on Friday evening and said our chief Imran Khan, who presented his 11-point agenda at the Minar-i-Pakistan on April 29, will announce a special package for Karachi on May 12,” said Mr Naqvi.

He added that they had already informed the residents of the city about the place of public meeting and set up their camp three days ago.

“Regular political activities are going on at our camp and groups of party workers are visiting it every now and then,” he further said.

“Peace has returned to the city after a long time. Our 22-year-long history shows that we don’t indulge in confrontation. We are determined to hold the meeting at the same place and appeal to the PPP government to avoid altercation and request Mr Saeed Ghani to choose another venue for their meeting.

“If the PPP government uses state machinery against us, we will be left with no choice but to hold the meeting on University Road,” he said.

The PPP, in reply, declared the PTI the second string to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

Saeed Ghani said his party, despite ruling Sindh for last 10 years, had been meeting all due formalities of staging rallies that included permissions from district administrations and police.

“Till our request to the DC, the PTI was promoting its rally near the Quaid-i-Azam mausoleum. After our announcement, the PTI put up its tents at the Hakim Said Ground,” Mr Ghani told a press conference at the Bilawal House.

He said the PTI was following the “policy of vandalism” just like the MQM and added that the politics of violence had already cost thousands of lives in Karachi.

“Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari will address our rally,” he said.

After the PPP press conference, workers of both parties came face to face and chanted slogans against each other. The situation remained tense for more than an hour and forced the leaders from both sides to intervene and keep their workers at bay.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2018