THE PPP rally in Karachi on Saturday demonstrated the party’s enduring appeal in Sindh and established that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at least appears to understand the basic fault lines and the existential challenges the country faces today.

To the party’s detractors, however, the memory of the disastrous governance between 2008 and 2013 is still far too fresh, and the Sindh provincial government’s ongoing problems of administration render the party a part of the problem rather than the solution a change-seeking electorate wants.

Yet, whatever the pundits on both sides of the PPP divide may believe, there are certain realities that transcend wishful thinking.

For one, the PPP will command a winning vote bank in Sindh for the foreseeable future — unless a new political alternative appears which can appeal to the needs of the Sindh voter. But there is no sign of that political alternative appearing, and one or two PTI rallies will not change the situation.

For another, the country needs a political option that espouses the politics of inclusivity and is clear on the only way forward for the country — a secular, liberal, constitutional and democratic polity.

Yet, for all that the PPP says right, it does twice as many things wrong. In speaking for the downtrodden, poor and oppressed, the party is a champion of a worthy cause. But should not the point of such politics be to afford opportunities to the disadvantaged so that the latter are able to socially, economically and politically move ahead in life?

The PPP speaks for the deprived segments, but it does not seem to be too concerned with ensuring that they do not remain poor.

Surely, even 10 consecutive years of rule in Sindh — which is what will happen if elections are held on time in 2018 — will not fundamentally transform a society with such deep-rooted and varied structural problems. But can anyone really say that the PPP is even on the right policy trajectory? Surely not.

Therein lies the problem for Mr Bhutto Zardari: he will not be in charge of his party for many years it seems, but the intervening period could fatally damage the Bhutto and PPP brand he will inherit.

Surely, there will always be some kind of a vote bank in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — but can it remotely be a winning vote bank if everything the party stands for is undone by its performance in office? The PPP needs to reinvent itself before it can aspire to save Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014