KARACHI, Pakistan
Children are enjoying the jumping castle and groups of women are crowding around the make-shift food stalls to taste local delicacies, while men are enjoying a poetry gathering.
At the first sight, it all appears to be a usual family outing, but in contrast, it is a protest sit-in outside the provincial assembly in the port city of Karachi, the country's largest city and the capital of southern Sindh province.
Over the past 10 days, hundreds of protesters loyal to Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country's mainstream religious party, have been protesting despite cold weather, against a local government law passed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-dominated Sindh Assembly, which according to the opposition parties, has stripped the district governments of several key financial and administrative powers.
Attired in jackets and warm shawls, men remain at the sit-in during the day and at night, whereas the women supporters along with their children visit the site after the sunset and stay there till late at night.
"It's a lengthy struggle, therefore we have tried to make it (sit-in) a family affair to reduce the conventional stress and boredom during such events," Salman Shaikh, one of the organizers, told Anadolu Agency.
The day begins with morning prayer, followed by Quran class and study circle. Special events, like poetry contests, drawing competitions, and swings are arranged for adults and children on Saturdays and Sundays.
In a corner, an open kitchen is established to prepare meals for the participants, whereas many part-time visitors bring food with them.
"I along with my wife and (two) children have been visiting the sit-in every alternate day. Many other families from our neighborhood also visit here," Atiq Ahmad, a JI worker from the city's northern district, told Anadolu Agency.
"In fact, we (families) had a one-dish party today," Ahmad said, smiling.
The law, which was passed late last month, has invited ire from the opposition parties, which accuse the PPP of managing the constituencies in a manner, whereby it can clinch a majority of seats in the local government polls in Karachi.
The opposition also demands direct elections for the mayors in the province in line with other provinces.
Ethnic fault lines
The JI's campaign for the rights of Karachi has not gone down well with the center-left PPP, which has been ruling Sindh for the third consecutive term, and some nationalists, who see the move as "ethnicity-based."
Sindh, the country's second largest and richest province after Punjab, has a long history of ethnic confrontation, mainly between the local Sindhis and the Urdu-speaking "Mohajirs" or immigrants, who had migrated from India at the time of independence in 1947.
Home to over 18 million people, and the country's commercial capital, Karachi is the largest city of Urdu-speaking population.
The city had long been a stomping ground of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ( MQM), an ethnic group that claims to represent the Urdu-speaking population but has also been accused of operating as an organized gang through the alleged use of violence and intimidation.
The party gradually lost its control over Karachi following a stiff response by the state in 2016 after its activists stormed television stations, clashed with police and shouted anti-state slogans following an anti-Pakistan speech by their leader Altaf Hussain, who has been in exile in London for last 24 years.
In the 2018 elections, the party could win only four out of 23 National Assembly seats from Karachi. The majority of seats were clinched by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Nonetheless, poor handling of the economy by the PTI and soaring inflation have created a political gap in Karachi, propelling all political parties, including the JI to grab the opportunity.
The JI, which had had a strong standing in Karachi before the rise of MQM in the mid-1980s, has bounced back, grabbing five seats in recent local government elections in the cantonment areas. The MQM could not get even a single seat from Karachi.
In recent years, the JI’s Karachi Chief, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman, an engineer by profession, has shot to the limelight because of his aggressive stance on water, power, and transport issues the city has long been facing.
Doors for talks still open
The PPP on Sunday night made its first contact with the JI for negotiations, a move welcomed by the JI, which, however, announced that the sit-in would continue until its major demands are met.
The PPP and some nationalist groups accuse the JI of "playing" with the sentiments of "Mohajirs" in an attempt to reclaim its former stronghold by replacing the MQM.
"Jamaat is following in the MQM's footsteps by igniting ethnic sentiments. We have already inducted the opposition's demand in this bill," said Saeed Ghani, a senior PPP leader and provincial information minister.
Doors for talks, he said, are still open.
Rejecting the allegations, Rahman said his party's struggle has nothing to do with ethnicity as it is purely against the controversial bill, which has "usurped" local governments' powers not only in Karachi but the entire province.
"It's not the JI but the PPP and the MQM that has time and again played Sindhi and Mohajir cards to keep their voters hostage. Our struggle is not against or in favor of any community but for the rights of Karachi, whose progress is the progress of Sindh and Pakistan," he said while speaking to Anadolu Agency.
"We believe in the unity of Sindh. It is the PPP and the MQM that have divided the people on the ground of language and ethnicity," he charged.
The PPP and the MQM have been coalition partners several times.
Echoing Rahman's views, Haleem Adil Shaikh, the opposition leader in Sindh Assembly, termed the bill a "dark law,” which, according to him, is aimed at "occupying" the local governments' powers by the PPP.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Shaikh said the joint opposition would continue its struggle against the controversial law.
Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a Karachi-based political commentator, supports the demand for a "strong" local government structure, which is "basic ingredient of a democratic system."
"A strong local government system has been promised by the constitution and the PPP's manifesto. But unfortunately, the PPP has been opposing to its own promise, which has created a number of administrative and structural problems for the province," he said while speaking to Anadolu Agency.
Supporting the opposition's demand for the metropolitan status to Karachi's local government, Khan said: "Being a Sindhi, I ask the PPP not to be scared of giving more powers to the local governments and change its attitude towards the urban Sindh."
The JI, for its part, he went on to say, should review some of its slogans to dispel the impression that it is in favor of or against any community.
"We all believe in the unity of Sindh," he maintained.
