Will Pakistan Peoples Party rise again?

Many are convinced that Pakistan Peoples Party has gone with the wind, but many others believe it will rise again. Those who are convinced have left its ranks and joined other parties mainly Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf but some also have gone farther and have joined Pakistan Muslim League N. Others who still believe in a miracle have no option but to wait. There is not one group of believers but rather individuals from different groups.

These groups or camps can be categorized as, the conventional, the ideological and the emotional. The conventional or traditional camp wants to enjoy the same old feudal prestige and so it is clinging with PPP. The ideological camp wants to bring a “socialist revolution” in “Islamic Republic of Pakistan” so it is trying to keep PPP alive because in its view the only “Proletariat’s tradition” in Pakistan is Pakistan Peoples Party. The emotional camp is not clear on what it wants but rather what it feels and it feels one day PPP will rise again and it will shout, “Zinda hai Bhutto Zinda Hai”, (long live Bhutto).

What’s on the surface is pretty obvious and can be concluded as a battle between PPP and its enemies. But who really is an enemy of PPP, when it has compromised on everything from its ideology to the assassinations of its former leaders. Is it someone outside or inside PPP. What’s inside is difficult to see and understand. Different factions have derived power from PPP’s “mighty days” but now it has become a liability an introduction which many don’t want to have.

Miss calculations have a historical relationship with Pakistan Peoples Party on both ends. When Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto the founding chairman of PPP was arrested and later jailed he “miss-calculated” public support for him and waited for them to rush over military’s General Headquarter, but nothing such happened. When his daughter Benazir Bhutto came to Pakistan PPP supporters and voters “miss-calculated” and perceived an end to their miseries. They thought Benazir Bhutto will provide them what Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had promised but could not provide due to his “extra-judicial murder”. But she was assassinated and so does the promise of providing ‘’ROTI, KAPRA, and MAKAN”, (bread, clothing and shelter).

There was another miss-calculation about which many don’t know. It was a perspective from leftists, socialists, and Marxists, who follow Leon Trotsky’s interims policy and are busy in promoting socialist thoughts in Pakistan Peoples Party and workers’ movement, which again in their view is only Pakistan Peoples Party. The saw a revolution, a socialist revolution in Pakistan right after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and declared that there is no existence of Pakistani state. But they confused Pakistani state with the government of that time. So “miss-calculated” a revolution.

Keeping the historical “miss-calculations” in mind, it could be rightly said that those who are seeing PPP’s rise in future are again doing wishful thinking. They are as wrong as Bhutto was when he expected people to overthrow everything to bring him out of his cell. They are as wrong as those innocent people who dreamed Roti, Kapra, and Makan. And as wrong as those “socialists” who gave the perspective of a socialist revolution through Pakistan Peoples Party after Benazir’s assassination.

One important thing which has been neglected while analyzing PPP’s potential rebuild is the reason behind its fall at the first place. This time,  PPP wasn’t divided from the top, it was divided from the bottom. Previously there was no bridge in between so-called center-left and right, between Pakistan Peoples Party standing at center-left and Pakistan Muslim League standing at right and far right, but now there was Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafe, an NGO turned to political party which got all necessary support and backing and waved from left to right in no time and now has reached far right. But in a short time in its huge swing PTI has won previous feudal lords of PPP, all kind of mafias and also so-called socialists. Even many diehard Jiyalas started believing that PTI is new PPP.

Now the question is still in many circles, will PPP rise again, and if yes, how it will. Some expect Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will act like his grandfather and mother and soon there will be a renaissance of PPP. Others have a much-complicated solution and they believe PPP will rise if it will turn to its basic program which according to them is socialism. But I don’t agree with so called socialists’ blind optimism. I think PPP can’t rise through socialism. As this is no more tradition of working class in this country… but that debate needs a separate blog. Also to opt for a socialist path or to turn to its basic it lacks the will, ability, and leadership. It can rise through the rhetoric of Bhuttoism and under table dealings, like mainstream politics and by injecting a lot really a lot of capital to win feudal, mafias, and Jiyalas back and to create new outlets and stakeholders.

Writer is pursuing his MPhil at Iqra University Islamabad and blogs at Kashmirica.wordpress.com go say hello @imrankhushaal

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Why Khan Can’t win AJK?

By: Imran Khushaal Raja On: 03 July 2014

It was reported that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formed its 10-member executive council on Wednesday to revive workers activism in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK). The council will organize and mobilize the party in the AJK within six months.

According to the news report Dr Latif-ur-Rehman has been made the president of the council, Sardar Abrar Javed senior vice president, and Sardar Babar Hussain has been designated as General Secretary.

Alright here’s a million dollar question, who these guys are? Frankly speaking I don’t know the answer. (Divulge me if you know any.) But what I know is, PTI can’t trigger a tsunami in AJK. (Yes, you heard me correctly.) Why it is so? The answer is; Kashmir is not Pakistan. Hang on, don’t take me wrong. It is its jugular vein as they say. (But let it remain for another discussion.) What I mean to say; it’s not Pakistan is; it’s not like Pakistan. The politics there is much more different than it is in Pakistan. Individual’s opinion can’t surpass the clan’s decision. I know this same thing also exists in Pakistan but let me tell you the difference.

Clans or BRADRIES are supreme political institutions in Kashmiri (AJK’s particularly) society. Every Clan has its own political association or you can say every political party depends on a particular clan to run its matters. Traditionally Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muslim Conference (MC) were two major parties in AJK’s electoral Politics. PPP would depend on Choudhries (Gujjar + Jat) plus Minorites (Sayyeds, Mughals like Douli Sardars, Maldyal, Hoteel, Baig, Mirza, Mir, Banday and Chughtai) plus exceptions (Less in number but Influential clans like; Sudhans) all the time and MC’s vote bank used to be Rajpots plus minorities plus exceptions almost all of the time.

But with the passage of time a very complex but interesting situation has been developed over there. Now a political party can only generate its impact with the help of a particular clan and that particular clan can’t move the earth without the party it has been associated with. Chaudhries are now bounded to PPP and PPP can’t win even a tehsil’s election without them.

Same thing has also been proved about MC in last elections. When Pakistan Muslim league N (PML-N) replaced MC, more or less all of the Rajpot’s voted for PML-N instead of MC and eventually MC couldn’t won anything. Now PPP and PMLN are two major stake holders.

And as we all know khan couldn’t replace PML-N in Pakistan how he can replace it in AJK? Whereas in AJK he has to win a major clan at the same time. Even though his flirtatious banters and a little left charisma could make people to listen him but it seems impossible for him to win a clan.

Secondly; the youth in Kashmir which don’t obey their clans are mostly Nationalists or Socialists. They are either active in Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party(JKNAP), Jammu Kashmir Peoples National party (JKPNP) or in a Marxist Leninist Socialists group like National Students Federation (NSF) or Peoples Students Federation (PSF). And believe me they don’t take Khan or PTI seriously.

According to one of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Students Federation’s (JKLSF) Mirpur district leading activist Adeel Khan “PTI can’t solve Kashmir issue and we are fighting for an independent Kashmir.” Comrade Taifor chairman of JKPNP’s students wing Jammu Kashmir Peoples National Students Organization (JKPNSO) says “For us politics is a matter of life and death. Our destination being youth of Kashmir is a Socialist Independent Kashmir and we are convinced that Khan or PTI can’t distract our comrades.” And Sajid Kashir who is leading one of NSF’s group says. “No, doubt Kashmiri youth has a lot of potential but they are politically much more advance and aware that neither Imran Khan nor Tahir Ul Qadri can address their problems.”

Thirdly; If Khan goes for a long term cadre building and donates some cancer hospital or university /college in Kashmir, even then the chances are very low for his success. Because this same method has been used by Jamat-E-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) in their separate projects namely Read Foundation Schools and Minhaj Ul Quran schools accordingly but couldn’t help them politically.

So in short, in general no Tsunami in Azad Kashmir and particularly one which Khan is trying to export is possible. People will listen him. They will join his rallies in case he will be able to lead some but they will remain Chaudry, Rajpot and Sudhan.  That’s mean they will never abandon their parties because they are “the parties”.