On Sunday, January 16, 2016, Sindhi local newspapers highlighted the leading news: “Grand alliance has been formed against the PPP and its leader is Pir Pagara.” This was not news for me as the smell of alliance has been in the air and we had been waiting for the veil to be lifted. So, now the season of grand alliance has started and our anchors will account for its advantages; it will be considered a game changer in the eyes of television anchors. I am still waiting for them to be termed “new leadership arises in Sindh”. Indeed, it is neither new leadership nor is it an agent of change. Old uncles are coming forward only with the old script of alliances. Before considering this grand alliance, I would first consider Sindh’s situation and the performance of the Sindh government so far. The Sindhi people live under the shadow of pain and misery. I have visited many small cities in Sindh where the faces of the people betray the story of their anguish. You do not need to ask them about their situation if only you look at their faces. Their faces hold the long history of unfair treatment and injustice; their wounds have not been filled by any ruling government. Yes, Sindh is in pain but that is because all power brokers have played their cards with Sindh. Even the current government has not alleviated the pain of the people. The Sindh government’s performance is not good, just like all the other provinces; we are ill with bad governance. However, the Sindh government simply cannot hide itself behind a wall of excuses anymore. What has the Sindh government done? Does it fulfill its promises? The current government cannot deliver just like former ruling parties could not. A Sindhi person once said to me: “We have received many wounds and right now we know the pain of each wound.” People have been walking on the thin edge of the sword of politics and, in return, they have received only the dead bodies of their beloved leaders. People are angry and this anger does not fit in with the formula of the alliance because Sindh has had enough bitter experiences with the grand alliance, giving it injured politics. The season of grand alliance can add warm debates in political rooms and everyone can present themselves as champions of political debate or maybe they will inflate the balloon of alliance through their debate. The question is: will this grand alliance bring any change? Will it meet the hopes of the many poor people? As above, I have mentioned that old uncles with old scripts of alliance cannot back up the people as the people of Sindh knew and know the agenda of planted alliances. Grand alliances have always been built against the fragile democratic system. We can have reservations and criticise the fragile democratic system but it does not mean undemocratic elements come and sit in the assemblies. Let me ask: who is part of this grand alliance? Have they ever built any alliance against dictatorship? Did they come along against the dictator Musharraf? Oh, how we can forget Mr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who was the chief minister in Sindh during the dictatorship of Musharraf? Today we see his presence in the grand alliance against the fragile democratic system, in the name of democracy. It was Arbab Rahim, who divided the cities of Sindh and turned Karachi into one unit on the order of Musharraf despite the rest of the Sindhi people being opposed to it. He opposed the government’s inclusion of women and now he is speaking for democracy under the umbrella of this alliance! The Sindh government has not done enough work for the people. We cannot forget another side of the picture: when the Sindh government is helpless Federal Minister Chaudhry Nisar does not listen to it. I wonder if this alliance has been formed against such a government because it is a weaker government and unable to take steps freely. According to reports, “After four decades, the grand alliance command has been handed over to Pir Pagara because in 1977 the grand alliance was formed and its command given to the late Pir Pagara to launch a movement against Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Agendas of the grand alliance are the Thar issue, to launch operations across Sindh and forming a commission against corruption. Also some nationalist parties have joined this alliance.” The people have remembered how an alliance was formed and launched against Shaheed Zulifkar Ali Bhutto in order to file a fake case against him. The black chapter of political history under dictator Ziaul Haq to his supporters gathered under the cap of alliance, and their undemocratic mistakes are still unforgiven in the court of the people. Later, an alliance was made against Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and her government was dismissed. Is the wound of alliance going to be reopened by the alliance of 2016? We need to analyse the formation of the alliance through the political disturbance between the PML-N and PPP. The cloud of governor rule may spread over Sindh; the grand alliance has united against the PPP on the account of the people. Those members are in the alliance who have not remembered the problems of the people in pervious years. Let me remind you: Arbab Rahim and Pir Pagara both have influence in Thar and have remained in power there as well. What have they done for the Thari people? How many hospitals were opened during Arbab Rahim’s rule? Wait, this grand alliance is against the PPP, which means it has no problem with the PML-N and PTI, and Balochistan’s government? What further agendas are coming out of the bag of alliance 2016? One agenda has been cleared up on how all partners in the alliance are seeking power so as to throw out the PPP government. This alliance will give a safe path to the federal government for imposing governor rule and, after governor rule, power may come to the alliance. The alliance is trying to join people to counter the government. In the current situation, this season of alliance does not have the support of the common people but unseen power always supports them. People in the alliance are talking about ethics and democracy though their values, whenever they come in power, have already been seen: they start behaving like kings. If the politicians in this alliance are worried about the people, why only for Sindh? This shows that the alliance may have a hope for power and now they are joining hands only to give a tough time to the current government. This season of the grand alliance cannot change the fortunes of the people nor will Sindh turn into a developed area. Only one thing can change the house of power and that is new faces entering the power corridors. The author is a journalist based in Karachi. She can be reached at veengas.journalist@gmail.com and tweets @VeengasJ