Post-mortem of PPP in Dubai

ISLAMABAD: When the top leadership of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) meets in Dubai on Saturday and Sunday it will not merely discuss the civil-military relations particularly in the context of the prevailing situation in Sindh or party tension with the PML-N, but an important item on its agenda will be complete reorganisation of the party to regain the lost popularity.
Naturally the PPP is concerned about situation in Sindh and the way the authority of the chief minister was undermined. Although it blamed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but some PPP leaders said it was in fact a ‘warning’ to the prime minister to remain ‘alert’. Some PPP leaders believe that the prime minister’s remarks that some people want to overthrow his government came after this ‘warning’.
A sign of improvement was noticed when the apex committee of Sindh met a few days back. Although director FIA was not present in the meeting sources said there was no tension in the meeting. Rangers have decided to confine themselves to the task of targeting terrorists and terror financing. The center has also warned FIA to be more careful. The PML-N might try to mend fences with PPP and might also reopen the dialogue with MQM, without any compromise on the ongoing Karachi Targeted Action against terrorism and terror financing.
The statement of the opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah in response to prime minister’s fear against his government was seen a step towards defusing the tension. Shah has assured the PM that as long as Parliament and democracy exist, there can be no threat to his government.
Shah’s statement is a repeat of the joint resolution of Parliament passed last year, when Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf stormed the Parliament House.
In a way PPP has thrown the ball in the PM’s court and also sent out a positive signal that it wants to improve its relationship with the establishment. The leader of the opposition not only praised Chief of Army Chief (COAS) General Raheel Sharif and army’s sacrifices in the operation Zarb-e-Azb but more importantly he said no one should be unduly worried about public display of General Raheel’s photographs.
But the Dubai meeting will conduct a postmortem of the PPP’s performance since 2013 elections and why it lost the elections, Taliban threat notwithstanding. Is it satisfied with its 5-year performance in the government? Why all top PPP leaders faced serious corruption allegations, which has badly damaged the party’s image? Why Sindh government could not performance better in both tenures?
Although the meeting would review the party’s overall performance but the major focus would be on Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa and Balochistan, where PPP suffered heavy defeat in the last elections and also in the local bodies elections. Lower Dir victory is an exception. There is a possibility that the provincial presidents of all the four provinces may be replaced besides some other organisational changes.
Talking to some of the PPP leaders who will be going to Dubai one got an impression that the party has decided to set the tone for the next general elections and that party needs a major restructuring before Bilawal could launch the next electoral campaign.
One of the major issues is facing is the new programme that can attract the masses like ‘roti, kapra aur makan’ did in the 70s.
However, the focal point of the meeting would be how to remove the “tag of corruption,” which has badly damaged the party’s image. It is quite possible that the top leadership might decided to give Bilawal Bhutto a free hand to choose new faces, sidelining those leaders facing corruption cases.
One of the proposals before the party would be to name a chief organizer who would work in consultation with chairman Bilawal Bhutto in the absence of co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, who might a low key role in the coming months till he returns to Pakistan. Syed Khursheed Shah can be the strong candidate for the post of chief organizer since Makhdoom Amin Fahim is seriously ill and Yusuf Raza Gilani is facing corruption cases.
Many provincial ministers in Sindh are facing serious charges of corruption and some are still influencing different departments from abroad. It is surprising that chief minister of Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, might not attend this important meeting. If PPP provincial presidents are replaced than Syed Qaim Ali Shah would no longer be the president of Sindh PPP. PPP lost the 2013 election for many reasons but the Dubai meeting would not look for excuses but confessions and would also focus on why the Sindh government has failed to perform. It is obvious that Bilawal Bhutto want to lead a new look PPP.
The meeting might also focus on potential allies. In Sindh the provincial PPP has never been in favor of any alliance with MQM while in Punjab the provincial leaders are against any understanding with PML-N.
In 2008, many PPP leaders were also not very comfortable with Mr Zardari’s approach towards PML-Q, in the context of the role the Choudhris of Gujrat had played in the execution of PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Some senior PPP leaders, who had suffered the wrath of General Zia’s martial law and faced imprisonment and flogging look optimistic after Bilawal Bhutto’s recent speech in Lahore. A veteran PPP leader, Qazi Sultan, from Rawalpindi called me and said, “Bilawal has given some hope to the party workers”.
The question is PPP can’t be revived on the basis of business as usual. It has to change its politics as well as policies for which a new crop of leaders is needed. Can Bilawal do it? Let us see what the Dubai meeting achieves.
The writer is the senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang.