KARACHI, Oct 11: On Friday, a day after the general elections, the Sindh Secretariat was a house without a master. Decisions were put off, files were pushed aside and bureaucrats clustered in closed rooms to explore what awaits them in the next one month.

More than all these demoralized bureaucrats, the 40 million people of Sindh, more than one-third of them living below the poverty line in villages and cities, are guessing whether all these setbacks, surprises and upsets in Thursday’s elections will bring any wisdom to those who are masters of their destiny.

The election results brought surprises to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) which in many constituencies have been overtaken by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), PML (Q), National Alliance and independent candidates. Understandably, the leaders of these parties are now in a state of shock and prefer to wait for all results and details of how election results were compiled before offering any “on the record” comment on the situation.

But all election news are not bad news. There is at least one good news. These elections have buried deep down under the bed of the Arabian Sea politics of the late Jam Sadiq Ali. A few desperate and perverted string- pullers in Islamabad had tried to revive the late Jam Sadiq Ali’s politics in Sindh. They had floated a party, the Sindh Democratic Alliance. The leader of this party has been defeated in the elections, and the attempt at revival of Jam Sadiq Ali’s politics has come to an end. The late Jam Sadiq Ali’s close associate and his hatchet man in 1990 and 1991 is reported to have managed to get himself elected from one of the constituencies in Karachi. But without his master in control of the affairs, he will prefer to go back to Islamabad or Peshawar where his father-in-law gives him protection from law.

Results of all the 130 seats of the Sindh Assembly are expected to be finalized by early Saturday morning. There is a lot to mourn in these results for the PPP, MQM and PML (N). But their leadership skills will not be judged by chest beating and noises, the leaders of the PPP, MQM and PML (N) are going to make on issues of pre-poll manipulations, polling machinations, rigging and tampering with the results.

Those identified with the establishment or those string-pullers in Islamabad will share anywhere from 50 to 53 seats in the house. The manipulators in Islamabad will try to net in members from the PPP, PML (N) and MQM to install a government of their choice in Karachi.

Political analysts predict that these three major parties are expected to share between them 75 to 80 seats in a house of 130 members. Can these three parties come close to one another in the emerging political scenario?

The MQM’s strength is being estimated at about 24 to 26 members. The PPP is expected to be a group of 45 members, may be one less or more. The PML (N) may have four members. This number may increase in final counts and the total strength of these parties may come to about 80. Not bad.

Both the PPP and the PML (N) have the experience of working with the MQM as partner in Sindh. They also share bitter memories of parting ways with the MQM. The MQM too carries bitter-sweet memories of association with the PML and the PPP.

The exiled Benazir Bhutto had expressed some reservations on working with the MQM a few days ago in a telephone address to newsmen. On Friday, when election results were pouring in, she told a television channel that her party was prepared to work with the MQM.

The MQM, too, has rewritten its political agenda. It wants to see urban and rural population in Sindh to work closely with each other, share each other’s joys and sorrows and, above all, should have same responsibilities and rights in the province. The election of a Sindhi-speaking candidate from Azizabad constituency of the National Assembly is no doubt an important milestone in the province. The MQM had selected a Jiye Sindh group to be its political partner. The Jiye Sindh had never enjoyed the support of the people of Sindh. Under the fast-changing political environment, the MQM should not hesitate to thrash out a working relationship with the elected representatives of Sindh and the PML. This will definitely enlarge the base of the MQM’s supporters in the province.

And for a change, is it possible for many champions of Sindh cause to shed off “Jam Shoro mentality” when it comes to choosing a chief minister and decisions on other important matters. “Only a Sindhi speaking can become the chief executive of the province,” thundered one of the nationalists recently. But why? Why can’t a Parsi, a Hindu or a Christian, who is a citizen of Sindh, cannot be made chief executive of this province, if he or she enjoys popular support. The city of Karachi has been served by Parsis, Hindus and Christians and also Muslims. Why can’t Sindh take a lead in putting in place a political order that guarantees equal opportunities to all.

Sindh has suffered a lot after it re-emerged as a province in 1970. Despite a PPP government in Islamabad, powerful bureaucrats saw to it that Sindh be denied its legitimate share in the division of assets after the dissolution of one-unit. Added liabilities were piled up on Sindh.

Mustafa Khar and Hanif Ramay literally blackmailed the late Bhutto in 1973 and 1974 to completely federalize the sales tax. Punjab claimed 60 per cent share in resources on the basis of population in the first NFC award in 1975.

Not only has Sindh been denied a rightful share in national resources and jobs, it has also been put under severe strain after 1977 when wholesale migration from Punjab and the NWFP was imposed on Sindh. Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Ziaul Haq took decisions which crippled Sindh economically and caused closure of industrial units.

Sindh has suffered the most because of the drought that has been afflicting Pakistan for the past more than three years. River water share has been cut down drastically. All major utilities in Karachi have been put under the control of Brigadiers. This is the only unfortunate province where the number of illegal foreign immigrants is the highest.

The combined effect of all these factors have made Karachi an unlivable city. Karachi was once a most relaxed and liberal city. It is now controlled by religious bigots. Can the MQM, PPP and PML leadership think to work together for making Sindh a prosperous and peaceful province that it had once been?