ASIF Ali Zardari is on yet another gold-digging expedition in Punjab, no map for success in hand but with apparently a fair idea that an election may beckon sooner than the date marked in the appointment register. The PPP co-chairman, who usually smothers his sentiments in favour of reconciliatory politics, is suddenly delivering caustic lines as he attempts to set a path for his party members to pursue. Much of what he summons at his command in these demanding moments would rank among rhetoric of the most common order. He says his party has never lost an election in Punjab fairly, an assertion more likely to convey a sense of desperation rather than bring in some instant marks for the PPP. His emphasis on fielding his children to drum up support for a revival of the party may also prompt negative talk — except that in Pakistan, like so many other countries, the prospects of change in a political party’s outlook are often, if not always, tied to the young members of the family relieving their elders at the top of the hierarchy. The promise of the children taking over from him may even provide some kind of a hope for a PPP preparing to enter electioneering phase. However, much more needs to be undertaken before the people of Punjab can start taking the PPP seriously again.

Those insistent on reinvigorating PPP in Punjab have not been too imaginative with their remedies. They have largely relied on a formula where the party is cast as a viable left-leaning, progressive option. Reams of paper have been wasted on longingly recalling the PPP’s original ideology without as much as a silent acknowledgement from the crowd in the country’s most populous province. A more realistic approach which deals with the idea of such a revival on the national level brings into sharp focus the performance of the PPP set-up in Sindh. At the cost of sounding repetitive, this is exactly where Mr Zardari’s focus should be instead of him spending his energies on roaring, supposedly Punjabi-style, for the intended amusement of the gallery. If Mr Zardari and family are really serious about renewing the party’s fortunes, they could do well by suspending all talk about the shining dynasty and glorious sacrifices by the martyrs and search deep and long for a twist in the story, a hitherto elusive spark hidden somewhere that can inspire the people.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2017