Sindh Peoples Local Government Act 2012 recently passed by Provincial Assembly o Sindh has damaged popularity of Pakistan People’s Party(PPP) in its strong hold in rural and urban areas of Sindh among Sindhi speaking voters.
The PPP led by President, Asif Ali Zardari after tragic assassination of its lifetime slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto won election in Sindh province with thumping majority and nominated the old party guard Syed Qaim Ali Shah as Chief Minister of Sindh. The PPP leaders visited Nine Zero MQM headquarters to make reconciliation with the urban base party in Sindh. The PPP and MQM were political rival parties but after President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to 90, a new reconciliation policy to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas of Sindh started.
The dilemma of the PPP was that after judicial murder of Zulikqar Ali Bhutto, powerful security establishment never accepted PPP under the leadership of her brave daughter Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. When Benazir-led PPP won election in 1988, Sindhis-Mohijar ethnic conflict was systematically supported by anti-democratic forces and polarized the relations between the peace loving communities.
The PPP strongly believes in federation of Pakistan and the party has roots in four provinces but after judicial murder of Zulikqar Ali Bhutto anti-democratic forces especially after post-Zia era contained PPP vote bank strength in its urban centers especially in Lahore and in Karachi. The PPP never got majority from Karachi in elections and only won elections from Lyari and Sindhi and Pashutan speaking constituencies of Malir, Kemari and majority of Urdu speaking in urban areas always preferred to cast vote against anti-PPP. Earlier, the PPP was popular among left inclination people of the metropolis but with creation of MQM in 1980s, the PPP won elections from those consistencies in which Baloch and Sindhi people are in majority.
The PPP from its foundation to post-Benazir Bhutto tragic assassination won elections from rural areas of Sindh and also from urban centers of Sindh where Sindhis are living in majority.
Majority of Sindhi believe that Sindhi feudal political class during the partition era supported Muslim League and Sindh Assembly passed a resolution in favor of creation of Pakistan but during formative phase of Pakistan, they could not benefit from state orientated policies and further turned into minority after migration of Urdu speaking from India to urban centers in Karachi and Hyderabad and Sindhi Hindu middle class migrated from Sindh province of Pakistan towards India.
Sindhi believe that the PPP is sole political party to protect their cultural, economic and demographic interests and always supported it despite they paid heavy price of supporting PPP. Being an indigenous people of Sindh province of Pakistan they have more constitutional rights to run affairs of Sindh province and benefits from its resources.
Sindh big land holding class which is prime beneficiary from revenue generation from crops doesn’t have interests in uplifting and development of their poor masses and not investing their surplus income on their constituencies’ development. The same issue is prevailing in urban centers of Sindh in which urban bourgaize class is benefiting from state perks and privileges and majority of poor masses don’t have education, shelter, health and their lives are not safe.
Eight-year military rule of Pervez Musharraf and its unplanned revolution, flawed reconciliation policy continued by President Asif Ali Zardari, bad governance and lack of commitment and will to serve masses, and lust of power further alienated Sindhi educated urbanized middle class from PPP who always prefer to caste vote for PPP.
In rural areas where majority of people living not benefiting from state policies because of presence of primitive mode of feudalism and the state’s strange approach to development and welfare of their own citizens.
The PPP which always won election with people’s support does not have roadmap for uplifting and development of poor and vulnerable people of Sindh.
The MQM strongly believes in uplifting of their own ethnic people’s interests but it never took bold steps to win heart and mind of people of Sindh and only do rhetoric against feudalism and its policy towards other ethnic communities was based on prejudice.
It’s strange that Sindhis who are living in their land from thousand years their sons and daughters don’t have right to get education in State-run educational institutes in Karachi and they feel alienated in their own Sindh province of Pakistan.
The MQM, which strongly believes that they are guardian of middle class never protects rights of other ethnic communities’ poor and vulnerable labour class people and always prefers to protect rights of feudal class and in Karachi protect rights of bourgeoisie class not the poor and vulnerable Urdu speaking labour class which are facing same issues as faced by vulnerable Sindhis, Siraki, Baloch, Punjabi and Pashutan.
In civilized and mature democracies, rural and urban models have different local bodies models and powers should be transferred from center to province and provinces to districts but issue with post colonial states like Pakistan is that none of rulers took pro-people development steps to empower people at grassroots level and never took sincere efforts to resolve genuine issues faced by Pakistan after birth from colonial rule of British.
The ruling elites through their myopic policies used local bodies as a shield to prolong and legitimize their own unconstitutional rule. As a result, the people are suffering from their flawed policies and its further eroding writ of state and further weaken state to protect constitutional rights of people.
The current elected government of PPP to remain in power in haste passed Sindh Peoples Local Government bill in Sindh Assembly.
The Sindh Assembly which is legislative body of people of Sindh province did not witness any debate on Sindh Peoples Local Government bill by the PPP or MQM. Furthermore, the both ruling political parties also did not seek suggestions from their own political coalition partners namely PML ( F), ANP, and NPP.
The problem with sitting political class of Pakistan is that they strongly believe to protect their own petty interests and never done legislation to empower people of this country. And the ruling elites’ political decisions and blunders only reduce their say among people just like the PPP’s top leadership unilateral decision damage its own vote bank in its own stronghold of Sindh.
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