The ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) during its five-year constitutional tenure, due to complete on 16th March, fulfilled just one of the 17 promises and only 20 of the 100 commitments it had made with the masses in its election manifesto titled “Towards Peace and Prosperity in Pakistan” in 2008.
On Monday the PPP-led Sindh government unveiling its five-year performance report at the Sindh Assembly to give what Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah termed a “broad overview” of his government’s past achievements.
Wednesday witnessed the National People’s Party (NPP) opposition leader Arif Mustafa Jatoi, a coalition partner yesterday but one of PPP’s biggest critiques in Sindh Assembly today, issuing a report titled “Broken Promises”.
Seemingly well-researched, the report concluded that all the ruling PPP had provided it’s voters with was hunger, coffin and grave and not “Roti, Kapra aur Makan” as the party had pledged in its 2008’s election manifesto.
According to the report, of the total 17 promises made in its manifesto, the PPP had kept only one and that was the announcement it made regarding provincial autonomy.
The 16 allegedly “broken promises”, the report cited, included ridding Pakistan of violence, bigotry and terror, employment for youth, lowering inflation, provision of quality education, healthcare and clean potable water, bringing progress to the doorstep of workers, farmers and small businesses, supporting the disadvantaged, making Pakistan business-friendly, women empowerment, sustainable high economic growth, sound macroeconomic policies, strong defence, elimination of energy shortage, environmental protection, world class irrigation system, citizen-centric governance and good governance.
Furthermore, the report claimed that the rulers from the PPP had failed to respect the 100 commitments the party had made to the masses and had fulfilled only 20 of the same.
Quoting data compiled by the Sindh police during 2007 and 2012 as “incredible”, Jatoi said that during the review period heinous crimes like murder, assault on police and gang-rapes have increased by 55, 124 and 32 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, incidents of murder, attack on police and gang-rapes grew to 3,540, 1,700 and 298 in 2012 compared to 2007’s 2,277, 759 and 22.
In addition, some 127 people were kidnapped for ransom in 2012 against 64 in 2007, while incidents of bank robberies, highway robberies and car theft surged from 20 to 30, 36 to 124 and 10,205 to 22,370 in 2012 respectively.
“Figures (have been taken) from Sindh police website so credibility is questionable,” the opposition lawmaker said.
“Some say Zardari alone has single-handedly outweighed all, but (in fact) he has inflicted headache and the habit of begging upon the nation,” Jatoi said while comparing the price difference of essential kitchen items during the PPP’s government with past governments.
The NPP leader said that inflationary pressures during the PPP rule had skyrocketed.
The prices of daily-use items, he claimed, had become dearer to the poverty-stricken masses by increasing from 42 to 268 percent. Citing government figures, Jatoi said the prices of wheat flour (average quality), basmati rice (broken), moong pulse (dal), chicken, mutton, beef, eggs, potato, onions, tomatoes, sugar, milk, lawn, kerosene oil, diesel, petrol and cement, he said, had, respectively, shot up by 155, 268, 159, 82, 134, 73, 74, 42, 124, 86, 59, 177, 101, 76, 91, 79 and 77 percent during 2008-2012.
“I was hoping for the ruling PPP to come out with a defence of its last manifesto that was published in 2008, however, no such effort seems to be under consideration by the ruling party,” Jatoi remarked in his report, the front page of which carried a photo depicting masses complaining “No Roti, no Kapra, no Makaan, whatever we had is also gone”.
The report, the NPP leader said, was not a personal criticism of the current government but was “an attempt to inform the voters of what was promised” by the ruling party.
