Daily Times

The “P” in Pakistan, represents the “P” in Punjab. While the politics in Pakistan apparently, propagates the aforementioned impression, the ground realities negate the same. The province is host to the majority of the population in the country, is the land of the five rivers, and is the agricultural hub of Pakistan. Even today, every political aspirant hopes to win in Punjab so as to secure the centre, and no one wants to give up on this valuable ace, in this game of political solitaire.

Whereas there are no issues in designating Punjab as a priority hub, and setting it up as the centre of political activities, the grave problem lies in ignoring, and leaving behind the remaining potential contributors to the national political sphere. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the third in terms of population, and Balochistan, the smallest in terms of population but largest with respect to land area, at least have a meaningful presence of major political, as well as nationalist parties within the province, yet Sindh remains politically forsaken.

Ironic as it may sound, the land of Mehran, despite being home to approximately 47.89 million people, as per the census of 2017, making it the second in terms of population size, has historically been subject to dominance by nationalist parties only, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), perhaps the only party that can consider itself to be ‘more than a Sindhi party’.

How can people be blamed for thronging to the same old Kings, accused of subjugation, corruption, and poor governance, if they are not even given options for potential political parties they can vote for? Hailing from educated backgrounds, the judgment on who is to be blamed, and is responsible for Sindh’s current predicament is, perhaps, our fault. It is also the fault of the political parties themselves, as they failed to avail this incredible opportunity to add to their existing vote bank by trying to stamp their authority in the province. While, the actions of Sindh’s own local political parties have been disappointing in the past, it does not seem to be improving at the moment either.

While PML-N’s focus has primarily been restricted to winning over, and gaining strength in Punjab, to the disappointment of many people, the Imran Khan led PTI, with their message of a ‘Naya Pakistan’ seems to have done the same

All mainstream political parties, especially the big three of Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and the PPP, have focused on attracting voters from Punjab and the KP, yet Sindh seems to have been ignored once again. Only the PPP has made some effort, but even that came due to the basic fact that their roots can be found in the province itself.

While PML-N’s focus has primarily been restricted to winning over, and gaining strength in Punjab, to the disappointment of many people, the Imran Khan led PTI, with their message of a ‘Naya Pakistan’ seems to have done the same and seem to be paying no attention to Sindh or its people. However, despite the odds, if the elections go off without a hitch, then Sindh will have a significant role to play in deciding which party finds itself in power in the Centre in the upcoming elections.

While there is currently no party that seems to be in a position to acquire a majority in the national assembly, and form a government on its own, it is expected that a coalition government will have to be formed instead. In this situation, the majority party in Sindh will be in a strong position to dictate the results of the elections and the division of powers in the country.

Whereas the PTI is expected to conquer KP, and are expected to share power in Punjab with the PML-N, Sindh is set to elect the PPP into power once again; mostly due to a lack of options for the people of the province, rather than the party’s popularity in the region. Although Sindh’s political significance has always been undermined, it is high time for all political forces to acknowledge the significance of the land, and its people. Come general elections, Sindh will yet again be a crutch for any future government.

The author is an Islamabad-based freelance writer

Published in Daily Times, July 25^th 2018.