Poll violence rising in Karachi ahead of February 8 elections

Karachi: Tensions are escalating in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi as the country gears up for the general elections on February 8 with several clashes already taking place between the contesting parties vying for national and provincial assembly seats. On Monday, violent clashes erupted in Nazimanad, resulting in the death of a worker from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM Pakistan) and injuries to three others during an exchange of gunfire with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers.

A day earlier on Sunday, heavy contingents of police baton charged, fired tear gas shells and forcibly dispersed an election rally of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Clifton area. At least 25 people, including some policemen, were injured in the fiasco.

The PPP stronghold over the southern Sindh province, particularly Karachi -- also Pakistan’s financial hub, faces a challenge as various parties compete fiercely in the upcoming elections.

The Bilawal Zardari-Bhutto-led PPP’s hold on Sindh and Karachi has remained even when the Khan-led PTI formed the government in the last elections in 2018 and also during the Shahbaz Sharif-led coalition government formed in 2022 after a vote of no confidence ended the PTI governance.

However, despite the PPP’s enduring influence in Sindh and Karachi, in the prevailing political scenario, there is a potential for shift in power dynamics, according to political observers. The PPP, MQM-P, PTI, Jamaat-e-Islaami, and some independent candidates are the key players for the elections in Karachi. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif-led Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which is predicted to win the national elections, appears to have a limited stake in the port city.