PESHAWAR: The ongoing reorganisation process of Pakistan Peoples Party is perhaps the last opportunity in hand to remove internal differences, reorganise its entire structure and make workers ready for competing political rivals in 2018 general elections.

In order to reorganise PPP, all its organisations down to the district level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been dissolved and replaced with a five-member organising committee at the provincial level in April 2016 to make recommendations to party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari within three months, but the process is yet to be completed due to ongoing wrangling within the ranks of the party in KP.

The committee had been mandated to mobilise the party workers and launch membership campaigns in consultation with the involvement of workers; to recommend at least three names for each organisation in the province up to the district level on the basis of political standing, past performance, good reputation for integrity and overall acceptability among the workers; and to hold district level conventions in all districts of the province by preparing a record of complete profile of nominations made to each party office and to make it available on demand to the chairman’s secretariat.

Five-member organising committee to submit report to Bilawal next month

Following directives by the PPP chairman, the committee has started campaign to identify suitable people by taking workers’ opinion in all the divisions and districts so as to name new office-bearers at different levels.

The 2018 general elections are approaching fast and other political parties have almost completed their organisational structures, but PPP is lagging behind all of them.

Though the PPP leadership claims the party would emerge as the largest one in the coming elections, it must acknowledge the fact that the situation for it has changed now. Any mistake in the ongoing reorganisation process can cause an irreparable loss to it.

If serious steps are not taken for bringing all the disgruntled leaders on a single platform it will be unable even to find suitable candidates in the next general elections.

It has been observed that in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at least seven attempts had been made during the past over a decade to search a suitable provincial president, who could reactivate the annoyed leaders and workers, reorganise the party from grassroots to upper level, but to no avail.

There are some basic reasons which have led to the existing crisis. The fault is not on part of local leaders only but top leadership is equally responsible for this situation. Personality clashes, personal interests, likes and dislikes for own gains, lobbying and backbiting have put the mainstream political party at the verge of destruction.

PPP’s virtual downfall in KP started since the days when Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was removed from the slot of provincial president. Many of the seniors describe it as conspiracy against the party and suggest that only Sherpao could reinvigorate it if brought back.

During background interviews a number of senior people said that the former provincial presidents like Barrister Masood Kausar, Rahim Dad Khan, Syed Zahir Ali Shah, Sardar Ali Khan, Anwar Saifullah Khan and Khanzada Khan had played their role well, but they were not given free hand to handle the situation.

The top leadership used to nominate provincial presidents by giving them very limited powers related to mother party while the sister organisations like Peoples Youth Organisation, Peoples Students Federation, Peoples Labour Bureau and women wing were directly controlled by the central leadership.

It was learnt that unnecessary interference in organisational matters by top leadership had always created mistrust between workers and leaders and thus groupings came into existence.

Many of senior people are saying that some of the committee members desired to get party offices which proved that they were not neutral rather they managed to become members of the committee.

Former provincial secretary information Liaquat Shabab told Dawn that the committee members were ethically bound to avoid aspiring for any office in the party. He appreciated the opinion-taking process, but warned that failure of the ongoing process could prove harmful for the party.

Former provincial general secretary Engineer Mohammad Humayun Khan said that it was not election, but the committee was just taking workers’ opinion that who could be the new president, general secretary and secretary information at the district, divisional and provincial levels. He said the final decision to pick anyone among them was the prerogative of PPP chairman.

Party secretary information Syed Ayub Shah stressed the need for intra-party elections wherein workers could elect leaders. He said that PPP was a democratic one and its workers also wanted their office-bearers to be elected through their votes.

Misbahuddin, leader of PPP disgruntled group, said that the committee had distributed forms to seek workers’ opinion, but in many districts these forms were not given. He said that if workers’ opinion was taken on the form then the committee was bound to issue voters list and declare electoral college to ensure transparency.

Senator Robina Khalid, a member of the organising committee, told Dawn that she was committed to following the party discipline and to submit a report to the party chairman. She claimed that the process was fair and the filling of forms was meant to seek workers’ opinion only, saying that it (form) was not a ballot paper.

Rahim Dad Khan said that the final report would be submitted to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the first week of September.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2016