A quick comparison of the PPP influence in Sindh with the party’s reach elsewhere in the country is sufficient to expose wildly distinct outcomes. It appears that party policies expose, among other things, a leadership gap. And that these don’t translate well beyond its traditional stronghold. The result of the Lahore NA 120 by-poll underscores the above. Yet as there is no alternative to the PPP in Sindh — the party should be confident as it prepares to face the people’s choice in the upcoming general elections. In theory, that its. For the truth of the matter is this: the PPP has completely failed to deliver the political goods to the people of the province. In other words, the plight of the poor is the same as it was when the party took to the helm some four years ago. Just because the people there have not risen up against this betrayal doesn’t mean that they don’t know what is going on. They are well aware that their resources are being mishandled to the extent that some of them have been forced to cross provincial boundaries to look elsewhere for work while others have no option but to stay put. Either way they keep calm and carry on bearing the rotten fruit of their elected party leadership. We lag behind other provinces on the education front. And then there is the news that we drink the most contaminated water in the country. Do we need anything more to underscore how much deprived of good health and good fortune we, Sindhis, are? Sadly, after Benazir Bhutto’s death — Sindh has not seen a single development project aimed at meeting the basic needs of locals. Instead what the people have been subjected to is a handful of different ventures all with the sole purpose of papering over the cracks of four years of neglect. Just so the PPP can rule the roost once more. With the passing of Benazir, conventional wisdom said that her son would be the heir to the political dynasty; that he would become the caretaker of all Sindhis. Yet this hasn’t happened. How could it when the intervening years have been rightly described by certain quarters as representing the darkest period in the province’s history? Meaning that the party leadership remains completely oblivious to what is happening on its watch except when it comes to the looting of provincial coffers. Thus it must be said that unless and until the PPP has both a serious change of heart and mind — it will never bring about any considerable improvement to the living standards of the provincial electorate, regardless of what it may promise when hitting the election trail. And early indicators do suggest that ballot-box victory will be its for the taking. There is, however, one obvious hiccup: the way that the PPP turned both deaf ear and blind eye to the verdict in the Benazir murder case. Which is nothing short of outrageous. Had she not been assassinated, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s non-realisation of his mother’s dream — which was to see a prosperous Sindh — would have pinched that little bit less. As it stands, however, he was to be the torchbearer of her legacy. Yet that light dims more each day that the party leadership continues on its current self-serving path. Today, Sindh is home to unprecedented lawlessness; the pretence of meeting basic human needs has all but been abandoned; disenfranchisement among the youth has reached distressing heights that can have potentially explosive consequences. Recently, for example, a young woman by the name of Tania Khaskheli was brutally killed. This happened in the Sehwan district. In other words, the very constituency that saw Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah elected to the National Assembly. Yet what is it, if not negligence, that allows the murderer to roam free? We lag behind other provinces on the education front, simply because of the way or institutions are mismanaged. Ghost schools with ghost teachers will produce nothing but ghost students. Which is where we stand today, especially in terms of literacy records. And then there is our Water Commission report that places us at the top of the list for those who drink the most contaminated water in the country. Do we need anything more to underscore how bursting with good health and good fortune we Sindhis are? The time has therefore come for the PPP top leadership to step up by breaking away with the recent past. In other words, the time for reflection is here. The time to recognise mistakes and reassess flawed party policies. The time has come to heal the wounds of the people. Only in this way does Sindh have any hope of prospering in the truest sense. Restoring lost credibility ahead of the 2018 elections can only happen if Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari takes the proverbial bull by the horns. And if the top party leadership, including the 19 members of the Sindh cabinet, begin to truly think out-of-the box. And this means putting the collective interest first. It’s the only way hope Sindh has of being saved from near ruin. Published in Daily Times, October 13th 2017.