Why is the PPP unchallenged in Sindh?

Pakistan People’s party (PPP) remained unchallenged in Sindh since its birth on November 30, 1967. It has not brought any major change in the lives of the common man and yet it sweeps polls whether general or municipal. The reason being more political than based on performance, particularly after Bhutto. Why, no potential alternative emerged in Sindh like Sharifs in the Punjab or Imran Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?
Therefore, the results of the second phase of local bodies may not be very different from the first on November 19 though this belt, in which elections will be held, gave a divided mandate in districts like Nawabshah, Naushero Feroz, Sanghar,Tharparkar etc.
The Functional Muslim League (FML) can be a good challenger. The MQM too is another challenger in certain pockets while the most exciting elections to watch would be in Badin where it’s more personal than political because of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza vs. Asif Ali Zardari, once closest friend. Mirza group has challenged the PPP.
The PPP, which once had strong roots in the Punjab, is finding it difficult to recover but its fall in the Punjab also had a history of conspiracies.
The PPP leadership could not meet challenges in a changing scenario in the Punjab and could not recover after 2002 elections. The 2008 vote for the PPP was basically for the late Benazir Bhutto.
It appears as the decision had taken place somewhere in the 80s not to allow any leader or party to take such strong roots at the national level like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Thus, the fate of Imran Khan, who emerged as a strong leader, may also not be very different.
It is so unfortunate that in post-Bhutto era the PPP took Sindhi voters for granted and did not bring any change in their lives. But, Sindh’s dilemma has also been the vacuum which no party has been able to fill.
The Functional Muslim League had the potential to challenge the PPP and emerge as a strong party but their anti-Bhutto rather anti-PPP stance could not make them a popular force and were confined to small pockets. In the past, it has been branded as “B-team” of the GHQ.
What were the causes which led to the PPP success despite no successful stories of development from Larkana to Hyderabad, while Karachi all together always had a different connotation in national and provincial politics?
(1) Many PPP critics blamed strong feudalism as one of the main reasons but then why anti-PPP feudal or Pirs could not defeat the PPP candidates.
Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular never had a dynamic leader like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
His death made him even stronger than he was in his life and that phenomena still have its roots. So, a common Sindhi still has love for him. It is not because he was a Sindhi but there were reasons to believe. His supporters say Bhutto not only gave them voice to challenge the suppressor, but also made serious efforts to raise strong middle class and their economic conditions were improved due to opening of jobs within Pakistan and by sending people to “Dubai.” Lyari is one example why people still love Bhutto.
Sindhis still believe that had Bhutto’s government not been overthrown through martial law or had he not been “executed,” people could have found replacement or he would have brought major change in their lives.
So for decades they are “repaying” what he did and believe he paid the price for them? Whether it’s a perception or reality, the fact remains that no other leader had been able to bring a new vision.
Thus, it would be a wrong assessment to say that merely because of “feudalism” people voted for the PPP. Even the strong feudal lords and Pirs in the past had lost elections against the PPP nominees like the late Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Sultan Chandio and even Pir Pagaro.
Makhdooms did not leave the PPP though Makhdoom Amin Fahim was twice offered premiership because he knew it could end his political future.
(2) Vacuum after Bhutto: Late General Zia’s establishment made several attempts to create a split in the PPP and promote anti-PPP parties but failed. He tried leaders like late Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Mumtaz Bhutto, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada but failed.
After Zia’s death, the establishment made other experiments through makeshift anti-PPP leaders and brought late Jam Sadiq Ali, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, Liaquat Jatoi, Ali Muhammad Mehr, Arbab Ghulam Rahim but the situation remained unchanged.
The third attempt was made when Bhuttos were divided. The purpose of launching Mir Murtaza Bhutto was to attract the mail dominating society. Mir had a charming personality and charisma. But, his only disadvantage was that he had challenged his own sister, Benazir, who emerged as a leader out of her own sacrifices. She tried for a patch-up as she always saw Mir to replace her and become part of the PPP. She also feared he would be killed as establishment didn’t like him, but she failed and he was killed in her government.
Murtaza’s murder and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto practically brought an end to Bhutto dynasty. Failure of “patch-up” among their children also diminished the hope that the younger general of Bhutto would be able to carry the dynastic politics.
People in Sindh are almost convinced that all these killings were part of a grand conspiracy to eliminate Bhutto factor and thus they still side with the PPP despite its poor performance.
Even those who opposed the PPP from Nawaz to Imran and even Sindh-based politicians avoid criticizing Bhuttos.
Now, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza has formed a group to challenge the PPP in Badin and other some other areas. Another faction of the PPP is led by Benazir Bhutto’s Political Secretary Naheed Khan and her husband Safdar Abbasi. Former PPP Secretary Information Sindh Iqbal Yusuf is also making efforts to have the third faction. Will Bilawal listen to them? Apparently, not yet unless they really become a threat to the PPP.
(3) Alternative to PPP: The Sindhi nationalist parties in the last four decades remained confused between “separatist and electoral politics.” Bhutto damaged separatist politics by creating more jobs and admissions through quota system for 10 years, which was later misused and sharpened rural-urban divide. The Muhajirs too misread his basic philosophy despite an agreement on 60-40 formula, something which Muhajir elders agreed.
In the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in 1983, the party which emerged and had the potential was Awami Tehreek led by Rasul Bux Paleejo. He was not only articulate but also had an organisation. He was also taken seriously in Punjab particularly after he spent a long time in prison and was declared “Zameer ka Qadi” by the Amnesty International.
AT had a much strong organisational structure than the PPP, with Sindh Peasant Committee’s women and youth wings and had the potential to become a strong party in Sindh, but due to some narrow approach it was confined to smaller pockets, though Mr. Paleejo tried to make its presence felt in other provinces too.
Some of nationalist parties were the fallout of National Awami Party, the only left wing part after the ban of Communist Party of Pakistan, but NAP too was banned and than split into nationalist parties in all the three smaller provinces. NAP could have been a better replacement of PPP had it remained united and its leaders showed resistance against Zia.
Since late G.M. Syed become too rigid in his separatist philosophy of “Sindu Desh,” and kept his party away from MRD, Mr. Paleejo was the only other leader left with capacity.
But, with the passage of time his party lost the direction and could not make political inroads. His son, Ayaz Paleejo, a firebrand speaker has regrouped and tried to reorganize his party, but still has a long way to challenge the PPP. He can bridge the rural-urban divide through fresh initiatives in which even the PPP had failed.
The young Pir Pagaro can also review the FML, which at present is second after PPP in interior Sindh. This clearly indicates that the party has the potential. However, he has to dispel the strong perception about FML as a party of the establishment.
Another advantage of FML and Pir Pagaro is that it also has the capacity and capability to end rural-urban divide. The FML in the past had better relationship with MQM, but the establishment only used them to dismantle PPP governments as “makeshift arrangements.”
However, unlike Awami Tehreek, the FML did not have the political organisation, which they can now have. The young Pir Pagaro did make his impact when for the first time after the death of elder Pir Pagaro he held a public meeting.
It’s not difficult to understand why people still vote for the PPP and failure of any alternative if one probes 1988 massacre in Hyderabad and ethnic killings in Karachi just weeks before general elections. It practically divided the mandate of Sindh in rural and urban Sindh and we are yet to recover.
Thus, it’s a long way to go before any party bridges this gap, keeping the political dynamics of Sindh. The people of Sindh are politically conscious and unless someone comes out with a better alternative and understands the causes of Bhutto’s roots, the PPP may remain unchallenged. Now, it depends on whether its leaders use this popularity for the betterment of the people or for personal gains.
The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of GEO, The News and Jang.