Provinces vs federation
The differences between the federal government and the Sindh administration continue to aggravate which is a bad omen for the federation. On Benazir’s death anniversary major PPP leaders expressed resentment over what they called the intervention of the centre into the affairs of the province dubbing it as a violation of provincial autonomy.
The PPP is a responsible opposition party which has consistently stood for the strengthening and continuation of the system. The party also stood by the PML-N government when the latter was facing a deadly threat from a combination of forces in August-September last year, despite being called the B-team of the ruling party. Whatever its other sins, the party cannot be accused of being associated with the Pakistani Taliban. During the last election the terrorists spared the PML-N, PTI and religious parties while they targeted the PPP, thus making it difficult for it to conduct its election campaign. The party has continued to remain a consistent supporter of the National Action Plan against terrorists.
Corruption and politics unfortunately go hand in hand in the world today. The situation is particularly alarming in developing countries. Keeping in view the past history of the PPP, it is inconceivable that any PPP bigwig was involved in supporting terrorist activities. It would however not be incredible if some PPP leader like Asim Hussain was found to have collected funds through illicit means for personal betterment. There is a need to differentiate between financing terrorism and being involved in corruption.
Sindh CM has praised the performance of the Rangers in dealing with criminals, target killers and terrorists. He thinks that there is a minor misunderstanding regarding their role. While Nawaz Sharif did not have time to resolve the issue during his Karachi visit, he needs to call the Sindh CM to Islamabad to defuse the confrontation. The 18th amendment has strengthened the provinces’ confidence in the federation. The Prime Minister needs to discourage any move that creates the perception of the violation of provincial autonomy.