THIS is apropos of Dr Akhtar Hassan Khan's article, “Privatising Qadirpur” (Nov 17).

It was this month 41 years back when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded the Pakistan People's Party at Lahore in 1967. The party came into being in response to inequitable economic and social conditions resulting from the policies pursued by the then ruling military-bureaucratic-feudal nexus of power.

The new party's programme basically revolved round the economic well-being and uplift of the underprivileged people through introduction of just and equitable economic system based on the principles of 'Islamic Socialism.'

This caught the imagination of the teeming millions, the poor who voted ZAB into power within a few years of the inception of his independent political career.

Once in power the PPP under Z.A. Bhutto focused on 'creation of assets' in the national economy in order to generate employment opportunities. Accordingly, the public sector came out with mega industrial and development projects like Pakistan Steel Mills and Port Qasim that could provide employment to a vast number of people.

In addition to that, an avenue for employment was found in the developing Middle Eastern economies, where the PPP government's proactive policies facilitated employment of Pakistani workers there.

It is estimated that during the PPP's first stint in power the government created about 2.2 million jobs domestically and sent another about two million skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers abroad for the purpose of employment. Another significant policy of the PPP at that time was that of 'nationalisation', under which several industrial units and other businesses were taken over by the government from private owners. That was, in essence, opposite to the process of privatisation.

The economic merits and demerits of nationalisation have been debated time and again but its human aspect, particularly the improvement in working conditions and the quality of life of the workers, has never been in controversy.

These policies and actions on the part of ZAB earned him most of the political capital and initiated the romance of the poor and underprivileged people with the party.

During the last four decades since the founding of the party, the poor people have propelled the party into power on the basis of their votes every time they have been given an opportunity to elect a party on the basis of their free will.

Benazir Bhutto was mindful of this fact and even under severe pressure from the World Bank and IMF she only adopted 'conservative privatisation policies', during the party's second and third stint in power. The result was that only a few state enterprises, mostly running in losses, were privatised.

This fact is evident from the statement of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, who said on Nov 12, 2007 that all the proceeds from privatisation during both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif administrations were mere Rs57 billion, while he took pride in stating that under his government the proceeds from the privatisation had been Rs417 billion. Throughout the Musharraf rule the PPP under Benazir Bhutto stood against the policies and process of privatisation -- from that of the PTCL to the Steel Mills. It voiced the accusations of bribery and kickbacks in those deals and stood solidly with workers who constitute its natural constituency.

However, this time a perception has been built amongst the workers that the party's policy on privatisation is deviating from its past track and has been moving towards that of its immediate predecessor in power. In politics, as they say, perceptions are stronger than realities and they have to be taken care of appropriately.

Here it should be understood very clearly that privatisation is not a simple economic policy. It has political and social implications of the highest order attached to it.

The process is perceived as anti-worker and anti-people by large segments of society. Recourse to such a policy by a party like the PPP would be suicidal for it as it would be alienating its natural constituency, the working classes.

DR MOHAMMAD ALI SHAIKH

Former director,

Centre for Information & Research, SZABIST

Karachi