KARACHI, Jan 15: Leaders of various political parties on Saturday claimed that the Establishment had systematically undermined credible political leaderships through its malicious propaganda which , coupled with frequent military interventions, had given rise to a culture of turncoats, opportunism and corruption.

This was, in a nutshell, the conclusion of the views expressed by the leaders at a training workshop for political workers organized by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in collaboration with the Centre for Civic Education, Pakistan, (CCE) and the USAID at a local hotel on Saturday.

It was interesting to note that the platform was provided by an NGO with the assistance of a foreign donor for the work which the political parties ought to have normally done for effective decision-making. Their failure in this regard had provided space to external players in domestic jurisdiction of the country.

The organizers claimed that this programme was aimed at enhancing the participants' leadership qualities, their understanding of the nature and principles of politics, and to provide the activists (both men and women) with the knowledge, besides developing their skills in advancing party modernization and attaining active roles within the party structures.

Building on the training workshops, the participants will use their newly- acquired skills in implementing a project that would help them strengthen the party they belong to.

Opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro claimed that the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had introduced political culture in the country and his slogan of roti, kapra aur makan was still relevant, despite the fact that several military interventions were against that polity of people's emancipation.

He deplored that political parties were not allowed to operate at local levels to serve people and address their problems. Even when political representatives got elected, they were not provided with the necessary infrastructure.

He said the hallmark of any leadership was trust of people. That credibility could only be achieved by practising what a leader preached to people. He said that turncoats betrayed the trust and confidence of their followers, and stressed that such trends should not be encouraged by governments.

Mr Khuhro said that ARD component parties were against military interventions and were committed to undiluted democratic dispensation. He said that ARD would continue its struggle against the present military ruler.

In reply to a question, Nisar Khuhro said that social inequalities and feudalism persisted in the society because the political culture based on people's support was not allowed to flourish and credible political leaders were forcibly kept out of the country and political arena.

He claimed that when Benazir Bhutto was planning her return from abroad before the 2002 elections, the government enacted 'Benazir-specific laws' aimed at frustrating her plans to coming back and play her due role in the national politics.

Faisal Sabzwari of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said that in Pakistan, there was hardly any political party that had cultivated and served the downtrodden and got them elected to the parliament.

He said that many of them recognized that people were the fountainhead of democratic political power but in practice they were hardly involved in governance. He claimed that over the years, the MQM had empowered the downtrodden and sent their representatives to assemblies because it believed in across-the-board democracy.

He claimed that after the MQM threw up the middle-class leadership, workers of other political parties also started raising voices against their own leadership asking them why they were being ignored.

Mr Sabzwari told a questioner that whenever the party leadership thought it prudent, MQM founder Altaf Hussain would return home. Salim Zia of the PML-N stressed the importance of a credible leadership having strong and deep roots in masses.

He was of the view that there was a lack of direction in the political parties. He also slammed the government for expelling genuine leadership and in this context referred to Mian Nawaz Sharif and his family.

Maulana Abdul Karim Abid of the JUI-F said that a political leader must be of strong conviction and character. He must not change his loyalty and conviction for petty gains.

However, he pointed out, over the past 57 years, Pakistan's polity had unfortunately suffered on account of this trend. Alhaj Shamimuddin said the best example of leadership was provided by the holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions. Our salvation is in following them, he stressed.

The workshop participants focused on the importance of leadership and strategic planning for political parties. It was emphasized that around the world, political leaders recognized the need for party renewal and practical approaches for implementation of the party programmes.

In many countries, healthy parties would develop and maintain a democratic internal structure, promote and enforce transparency and accountability, and consistently revitalize their membership through outreach to new sectors. In addition to the training modules, NDI and CCE will conduct a series of study trips in Sindh to examine various aspects of democratic process.