THIS is apropos Asif Zardari blaming local and global games for the PPP’s political rout. The problem with the PPP, its allies and other political parties is that they had taken their constituents for granted and expect to blindly vote for them without any expectations of being served.

The top leadership of the PPP is responsible for their electoral rout in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan. After all, who was responsible for the choice of selecting highly controversial men like Yousuf Raza Gilani, Dr Asim Hussain, Raja Pervez, Ahmed Mukhtar and the likes of them with a known track record for financial impropriety?

Can anybody justify the impotence of the state in apprehending a man like Tauqir Sadiq, allegedly accused of plundering Rs82 billion from the national exchequer, or the protection given to those who committed the well-publicised murder of Shahzeb in Karachi?

Hundreds of thousands left homeless by floods in Sindh were left at the mercy of elements, while the president considered it appropriate to visit his castle in France.

The apathy of this government to thousands of victims of Haj scam was unfortunate, to say the least.

Thousands of innocent citizens of Pakistan were killed in targeted killings, not only in Fata, but in Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan, and not a single murderer caught for the sake of political expediency.

Tax evaders instead of being caught were given a series of amnesties, in a country where the tax-to-GDP ratio is alarmingly low.

The PPP, which over the years had developed a constituency among the poor, lost it because of discriminatory policy of selective loadshedding that had caused unemployment for millions of workers laid off by industries shut down even in areas where electricity and gas bill payment was over 80 per cent, while it ensured uninterrupted supply to areas where electricity payment was as low as 45 per cent.

Although the PPP was never known as a provider of good governance, it was never reputed for selling jobs to highest bidder, nor for sending on forced premature retirement regular permanent employees of state-owned corporations to appease the whims of a few such as happened in PIA, Pakistan Steel and NICL

MALIK TARIQ ALI Lahore

Poor governance

THIS is apropos of the statement made by President Asif Ali Zardari about the defeat of the PPP in the recent elections. He is certainly a very astute politician as he managed a full five-year term for the PPP by taking timely and correct actions to keep the coalition parties with him.

As your editorial “Zardari’s regrets” (May 21) rightly suggests he should have relinquished the office of the president and led the election campaign for the PPP. He could end up with better results for the PPP.

However, I am sure, if he gets the loss thoroughly analysed, one of the major factors for his party’s defeat, that would emerge, would be ‘poor governance’.

ABDUL QAYUM KHAN Karachi