“PPP will not rock the boat”: An interview with PPP’s unsung hero – Maimoona Zainab Kazmi

The party will reorganise and bounce back very soon

While the party organisations have been dissolved in AJK too, the party chairman would announce reorganisation in August. We will again regroup and would again raise the party flag in AJK soon

Working as political advisor to PPP’s secretary-general Latif Khan Khosa, Maimoona was the main architect of the PPP’s reference filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to seek disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his close family members, including his son-in-law, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and many others.

Basically a banker, Maimoona resigned as assistant vice president of Allied Bank Limited to vie for the party’s ticket for Senate elections in 2012. But this was not the last sacrifice Maimoona made for the sake of the party.

The party also recognised her sacrifices and Maimoona was nominated torepresent the party at several domestic and foreign forums. Recently, Maimoona Kazmi also represented the party at a bilateral meeting with the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing and Yichang.

DNA sat down with Maimoona to discuss the fast developments taking place at the national and regional levels of the party and the national arena.

Q: PPP has recently been swept out of AJK, which only adds to the party’s continuing downtrend since the ’13 election. What, if any, is the party’s comeback strategy? We have heard of a reorganisation in Punjab for a while as well, but it has not yet come. When, exactly, can we expect a visible shakeup of the PPP?

Maimoona Kazmi: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has already dissolved all party organisations across the country. Since elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have been over, the party has dissolved all the party organisations in AJK too.

As a comeback strategy, the party would start reorganisation starting from Mondaywhen the party’s central executive committee (CEC) would meet in Lahore and the reorganisation for Punjab would be announced after the meeting. Soon, the party’s new structure would also be announced for AJK. This process would be followed for the entire country in phases. This would be a visible shakeup and the entire country would see a new PPP bouncing back as a thriving force.

Q: Bilawal Zardar claimed AJK elections were rigged, but accepted the result for the sake of democracy. However, if the election itself is flawed, or deliberately rigged, how can accepting the verdict then be a service to democracy? Shouldn’t he have reacted more strongly if he really believed there was strong rigging?

MZK: Well the PPP, under its dynamic chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has adopted a very cautious approach over the AJK polls. Giving priority to the national cause over the party’s cause, we have registered our protest over the massive rigging in the AJK polls. However, keeping in view the unrest in Indian Occupied Kashmir, we don’t want to provide any opportunity to the enemy to use our protest as an excuse for Indian oppression against the freedom-loving Kashmiri people.

Since the martyrdom of Burhan Wani, India has been adopting extreme state terrorism against the innocent unarmed Kashmiri people. We don’t want to allow India any opportunity to question electoral process in AJK.

So in the larger national interest, the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has decided to accept the AJK polls results. But this should not be taken as a blanket approval to the poll rigging in AJK. We would keep raising our voices against the rigging with a measured and calculated approach.

The party is taking feedback from all its candidates from AJK and we would take the nation into confidence on the planned rigging in AJK. During the past five years, the PPP government took unparalleled measures for welfare and wellbeing of the people of AJK. The PPP government established medical centres and universities across AJK. We could never lose elections after this exemplary service of the common public. Even the media has been reporting the statements of some PML-N leaders of AJK who are also surprised at the election results.

While the party organisations have been dissolved in AJK too, the party chairman would announce reorganisation in August. We will again regroup and would again raise the party flag in AJK soon.

Q: What should the people of Sindh expect from the new CM? On the surface you have replaced one CM who wasn’t delivering with a young energetic one. But they party could have chosen somebody other than a feudal; perhaps for optics? What can we expect to be different under the new CM?

MZK: First of all, there is a need to acknowledge the services of the outgoing chief minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah. He delivered the goods for the people of Sind in general and Karachi in specific. The successful Karachi Operation is a major accomplishment of the outgoing chief minister as he was the captain of the Operation. He not only called in the Rangers but also gave them powers to take indiscriminate actions against criminal. Under his leadership, the law enforces were allowed to take action at will and the chief minister did not intervene.

However, there were some weaknesses and the party leadership, with an open mind, decided to bring in a new face to replace the senior leader.

The new chief minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, would also work seeking guidance from seniors like Syed Qaim Ali Shah. The new chief minister has been given specific tasks and law and order tops the list. The party leadership has advised Murad Shah to develop good working relationship with the Rangers and other law enforcing agencies to ensure improved law and order situation in Karachi and other parts of the province.

Q: How do you feel the situation will develop between MQM and PPP now that the arrest of Waseem Akhtar has changed the stakes? Can we expect a long drawn affair, like Dr Asim, or will this be short and sweet, so to speak?

MZK: Dr Murad Ali Shah would also take political forces along, including the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM). Previously, the MQM was unhappy with Syed Qaim Ali Shah but Dr Murad would resolve all such issues.

However, let me make it clear that the Sindh government would not intervene or interfere in judicial matters. The cases which are sub judice, would be purely the domain of the courts and the government would not intervene in cases like Waseem Akhtar, Dr Asim or others.

If the courts clear the political prisoners, the PPP government would implement the verdict. However, neither the PPP nor the provincial government would provide assistance to any of the accused.

Q: There seemed a sort of synergy developing between PPP and PTI over the matter of TORs. However, it seems the initiative has more or less fizzled out. Is there any constructive negotiating still going on between the two parties or is that little episode already over?

MZK: Yes, the PPP is taking along all political forces to take up the Panama Leaks matter at every available forum. We are not only using the parliament to raise voice against the corruption of the ruling family within the parliament but we are also raising the matter at other anti-graft forums like National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as well as the ECP.

We would not make any compromise on our demand for Panama probe. In Senate, PPP secretary-general Senator Latif Khan Khosa and Senator Aitzaz Ahsan are jointly tabling a bill demanding Panama probe. We are hopeful that we would be able to get this bill approved by the Senate where the opposition enjoys majority. We hope that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other opposition parties would support the bill.

Beyond the parliament, we are also going along with the PTI and other parties in the ECP to defend the references filed by PPP, PTI, Awami League of Shaikh Rashid and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) of Dr Tahirul Qadri. The ECP has fixed the hearing of these references on August 3.

At the ECP, all the four parties would jointly fight the cases against the corruption of prime minister and his other family members.

However, having said that, let me tell you that the PPP would not support any move by the opposition parties, including the PTI, which in any form may destabilise the democratic process. We would not support any sit-in by PTI or any other political party if we suspected that it was aimed to destabilise the democratic system.