Our Sayeen Correspondent
Karachi
In what is widely seen to be the only next natural step in a long-standing trend, the Pakistan People’s Party has finally let go of its last remaining honest cabinet member, the outgoing chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.
“Yes, this was a problem since long. Though the outgoing chief minister did tolerate corruption, that was still not good enough,” said Murtaza Haider, a political analyst. “Him having personal financial integrity was very big stumbling block.”
Personal honesty was not the only problem with Syed Qaim Ali Shah. “His belonging to a middle-class family and not being a feudal was also an issue that gravely perturbed the party,” said Saima Bukhari, professor of political science at the Karachi University. “Middle-class is good enough to be an activist. Good enough to be even a core committee member, but though they are not unheard of, non-feudals aren’t exactly what the party envisions for itself.”
Even though these two issues were overpowering, the reason that the leader had managed to stick around for so long was his other attributes that were in line with the PPP. One, his resolve not to bow down during the many bouts of military rule that ride to break him away from the party. Two, his incompetence in matters of basic governance.
