The ruling Pakistan People’ Party (PPP), which imposed the commissionerate system in Sindh in a bid to take political advantage, now appears to be a political loser in its stronghold province after reversing its own decision within a month.
It took only a month for the PPP to convert its “historical victory” into a great political defeat. The PPP leadership, especially President Asif Ali Zardari, made both the decisions without keeping in view their consequences.
On July 9, the party had restored the old commissionerate system, a day after the Zardari’s meeting to review the Karachi situation.
On August 7, the president sent his close aide Babar Awan to Karachi. Awan went on to introduce the dual local government system in the province and invited criticism from nationalist parties.
The leadership of the party’s Sindh chapter, however, realised later that this move would be a blunder, so they persuaded Zardari to change his decision and reinstate the 2001 local government system in the entire province.
The PPP had celebrated the restoration of the old commissionerate system by organising rallies. The party leaders had declared it as a “historical” achievement of the PPP-led government and congratulated people of the Sindh through advertising in the media.
The party’s leadership had declared the 2001 local government system unconstitutional, saying that they have fulfilled a promise made with people of the province by abolishing the “remains of military dictator Pervez Musharraf”.
But now they are silent. The PPP leaders are unable to defend their party’s decision to roll back the “people-friendly” commissionerate system and restore the “unconstitutional” system of the former military dictator.
The elected representatives of the party are unable to stay in their constituencies and face their voters. The nationalist parties of Sindh are taking advantage of the situation.
The party leaders in Sindh are receiving harsh and abusive messages on their cell phones. Many people are using the Internet, especially the social networking website Facebook, to express their reaction.
They are not criticising the PPP for rolling back the commissionerate system, but condemning the party for restoring the local government system introduced by former president Musharraf, considering it as the first step towards the division of Sindh.
Under the SLGO 2001, the former ruler had given a separate status to Karachi and Hyderabad and created bifurcations in some other parts of the province.
However, the nationalist parties of Sindh, despite expressing their reservations, had not dared to protest on the issue during Musharraf’s tenure.
The PPP has taken a difficult step by restoring Musharraf’s local government system, especially when the party is preparing to go to its constituencies and start a mass contact drive ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
When ‘historical victory’ turns to embarrassing defeat
