Daily Times

SHAHEED BENAZIRABAD

KARACHI: Shaheed Benazirabad district, better known as Nawabshah, has made headlines for former president and Pakistan Peoples’ Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari’s return to electoral politics after a gap of 24 years. He is a PPP candidate from one of the two National Assembly constituencies here, the seat held by his sister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho in the last term.

Since 2002, PPP has not lost a single election to NA and provincial assembly seats in Shaheed Benazirabad. After the last year’s census, the updated delimitations saw the district losing one of its five PS seats. In 2018, the district will send two representatives to the NA (NA-213 and NA-214) and four to PS (PS-37 and PS-38 in NA-213, and PS-39 and PS-40 in NA-214).

According to Election Commission of Pakistan, the number of registered voters here is 775,613. Majority of the voters are Sindhi speakers. A sizeable number of Urdu-speakers reside in the district’s urban centre and Punjabi speakers in its rural hinterland. However, the last time Mohajir Qaumi Movement, now known as Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), managed to grab Nawabshah city’s provincial seat was in 1990.

Zulfiqar Khaskeli, a local journalist, does not see any major changes ushering in the political landscape of the district on July 25. “There is no substantive change in the politics of Shaheed Benazirabad except that Asif Zardari is contesting from his home district,” he says, adding while the Urdu speaking voters had shifted their support to the PPP a long time ago, the little support left for MQM would also get affected owing to infighting in the party. Explaining the shift of Urdu speaking vote bank away from MQM to PPP over the last three decades, he says, “People have day-to-day affairs for which they seek help of their elected representatives. It doesn’t make intuitive sense for Urdu speakers to keep supporting MQM when the district remains in firm hold of the PPP.” In 2013, the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) also contested here but it could not make a mark. This time, however, PTI, along with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) of various anti-PPP parties are expected to put together a semblance of an opposition.

In PS-37 (Daur taluka), PPP has nominated Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Asif Zardari’s sister against Grand Democratic Alliance’s (GDA) Syed Bagh Ali Shah, a former PPP activist. “In 2013, Syed Bagh Ali Shah lost to the PPP candidate. Dr Pechuho seems to be in a strong position in 2018 as well, although other parties including PTI and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) have also filed candidates,” Khaskheli says.

The impression that PPP has enjoyed absolute power in the province is misplaced. From 2002 to 2008, the province was in control of Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Ali Mohammad Khan Mahar

Dr Bahadur Khan Dahri, PPP leader

PS-38 covers Nawabshah taluka. PPP has retained Tariq Masood Arain for the constituency against MQM’s Naeem Raza Rajput. With the latest round of delimitations, five rural union councils have been added to PS-38, that is predominantly urban, further bolstering PPP’s chances here.

In PS-39 (Sakrand taluka) PPP has nominated Ghulam Qadir Chandio, a former MPA, against Syed Zain Shah of the Sindh United Party, a grandson of G. M. Syed. Ghulam Rasool Unar, a former MPA, is contesting on PTI’s ticket. In PS-40 (Kazi Ahmed taluka), PPP has given its ticket to the cousin of 2013 winner Dr Bahadur Dahiri, Sardar Khan Muhammad Dahiri. Khan Muhammad is an influential landlord who has been an MPA in the past. His major opponent on July 25 election will be GDA’s Syed Asif Shah Jilani.

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari will contest for the NA-213 seat against GDA’s Sardar Sher Muhammad Rind. Others in the race are Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party chairperson Dr Qadir Magsi and MQM’s Rauf Siddqui. Speaking to Daily Times, Dr Maqsi says that it is time for the people of Shaheed Benazirabad to get rid of the ‘Zardari dynasty’. “PPP has failed to deliver despite enjoying a heavy mandate for two consecutive terms,” he says, adding, “Nawabshah is Asif Zardari’s home town. Since 2002, PPP has had absolute power here as Faryal Talpur remained the district nazim in Pervaiz Musharraf era, followed by two back-to-back governments in the province.”

Dr Magsi believes that the people of the area are fed up of PPP’s policies and bad governance. In the agricultural sector, he says the previous administration manipulated rates and caused shortages of wheat bardana (gunny bags) and irrigation water. “I’m contesting in the constituency just to challenge Zardari’s hold. PPP thinks it is invincible, they will find out the reality on the polling day,” he says.

The previous administration manipulated rates and caused shortages of wheat bardana (gunny bags) and irrigation water. I’m contesting in the constituency just to challenge Zardari’s hold

Dr Qadir Magsi, Sindh Tarraqi Pasand Party

Responding to Dr Magsi’s statements, Dr Bahadur Khan Dahri, a former PPP MPA, says the impression that PPP has enjoyed absolute power in the province is misplaced. “From 2002 to 2008, the province was in control of Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Ali Mohammad Khan Mahar. PPP has been in power since then and has tried its best to serve the masses,” he says.

District profile

Shaheed Benazirabad is located on the left bank of the River Indus and is around 280 kilometers away from provincial capital Karachi. The origins of the district go back to the British era. It was upgraded from taluka to district level in 1912 and was named after Syed Nawab Shah, who in 1912 donated 200 acres of land to the government for the construction of a railway station. In 2008, PPP government renamed it after its slain leader former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The district headquarters is still called Nawabshah. Nawabshah’s airport also dates back to the British era. It’s no longer used for regular flights, and is kept for use as a diversion airport.

The city of Nawabshah is set in a lush agricultural region. It is famous for its sugarcane, mango, and cotton crops, besides being the largest producer of bananas.

The city is considered one of the hottest in the country, and temperature can be a factor in determining the voter turnout on July 25. From 1970s onwards, PPP has been the largest political party, and it has retained support of some of the most influential families here: Jatois, Jokhios, Syeds, Magsis, Rinds and Zardaris.

Published in Daily Times, July 9^th 2018.