PESHAWAR: Many in the PPP believe party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s recent two-day visit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has significantly helped mobilise the local disgruntled workers.

They however regret the party’s failure to complete work on the strengthening of its sister organisations and name office-bearers at lower levels in different districts.

According to them, most of the party’s provincial leaders, including office-bearers, were seen around Mr Zardari during the visit but only few of them are taking serious steps to strengthen the party. The party’s most provincial office-bearers have failed to deliver the goods.

Many activists told Dawn that until Mr Zardari visited KP, only provincial president of the party Engineer Mohammad Humayun Khan were seen in the field for the party’s reorganisation as other office-bearers stayed away from regular corner and workers meetings in their respective districts.

They said the co-chairman’s visit to KP provided a very good opportunity to the office-bearers to meet most workers for the Mardan and Skhakot public meetings.

Many party workers got the chance to see Mr Zardari at the house of former federal minister Lal Mohammad Khan in Thana village of Malakand Agency and apprise him of their grievances for necessary action.

Many believe Zardari’s recent visit helped mobilise disgruntled workers in KP

In the entire Malakand division, the protected area of Malakand Agency is considered to be ‘mini Larkana’ as it has the PPP supporters and sympathisers in large numbers. However, infighting has damaged the party, especially its electoral position.

Taking note of their differences before his visit, Mr Zardari met leaders at the house of Lal Khan in Islamabad.

According to its leaders, the PPP has got a chance to mobilise annoyed workers.

During the last one decade, the party tried a number of people to run its affairs at the provincial level but the provincial presidents were not given proper time to play due role for reorganisation and were replaced abruptly.

All the former provincial presidents including Barrister Masood Kausar, Sardar Ali Khan, Anwar Saifullah Khan, Khanzada Khan, Rahimdad Khan, Syed Zahir Ali Shah and Khwaja Mohammad Khan Hoti have prominent position in the politics.

Senior activists feel the party’s central leadership has always gone for experimentation by replacing office-bearers instead of taking concrete steps to restore the party’s strong position in the province.

“Had the top leaders ever taken notice of internal rifts, they would have already visited the province and addressed public meetings to mobilise workers. Ironically, they did not pay proper attention towards it,” an activist said.

According to activists, Mr Humayun managed to bring Mr Zardari to the province at a time when the general elections are in sight but he has many challenges ahead of him.

The office-bearers have been announced in 90 percent of the divisions and districts in the province but organisations have yet to be formed at lower levels in many districts.

They said not only the office-bearers should stay in contact with workers and mobilise them for the next general elections but also, there was a need for the urgent nominations for the offices of the party’s student, women and youths wings to compete with rivals.

According to them, before the naming of the provincial office-bearers, there were parallel groups in different areas, where the people always raised voice.

However, it seems that the situation in the party is fast normalising “I always raised voice in the interests of the party and have no personal agenda. I never fought to get any key seat in the party but suggested that right people should be given chance to serve on the right place,” former MNA and once leader of a former disgruntled group Tariq Khattak told Dawn.

Mr Khattak, who accompanied Mr Zardari to the Badgraga public meeting, expressed the hope that the party would regain strong position in the province if the leadership kept coming in at regular intervals.

He however said many office bearers lived in Islamabad and therefore, they were unwilling to fulfil official responsibilities in the province.

PPP provincial vice president Syed Ayub Shah said he was optimistic that the party would move in the right direction to implement its manifesto and democratic culture in its organisations.

When contacted, PPP provincial president Humayun Khan said he was ready to visit the house of every worker for the sake of the strengthening of the party as a responsibility.

“We will get back our past glorious position very soon with the help of workers,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2017