PPP faces prospects of key defections

Party leaders baffled by two parallel centres of power

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party [PPP] – once the most powerful political entity in the country – is facing a crisis as a rift between two parallel centres of power within the party is widening with a number of disgruntled leaders likely to jump ship.

The PPP is not only registered as two separate entities but also being run in two parallel set-ups. It is registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) at serial number 229 as the PPP with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as its chairman and at serial number 231 as the PPP-Parliamentarian (PPP-P) with Zardari as its president.

When Zardari left the country in 2015 after delivering a hard-hitting speech against the powerful security establishment, there was a perception in the PPP that the party's young chief, Bilawal, would now call the shots.



And during Zardari’s prolonged absence, Bilawal actually started the process of reorganising the party and dissolved the previous set-up.  He notified most office-bearers at the provincial level but then his father returned ahead of the death anniversary of former premier Benazir Bhutto and things changed.

Soon after his return in Dec 2016, Zardari reactivated his old set-up of the PPP-P, which represents the political group in parliament and provincial legislatures.

He filled important vacant slots with new office-bearers and adjusted some prominent ‘electable’ or ‘winning horses’ in the PPP-P’s hierarchy. Appointment of Faisal Saleh Hayat, who rejoined the PPP last month, as vice president of the PPP-P is one such example.



This has led to two parallel set-ups running the party’s affairs. However, Zardari’s team – comprising old stalwarts – is dominating while Bilawal’s team – comprising relatively younger lot – is left sidelined.

“The former president is running the show through old guards like Nawaz Khokar and Faisal Saleh Hiyat in Punjab. People like Qayum Soomro and others have more say in Sindh and Balochistan. Bilawal’s team is seen nowhere in all this,” remarked another PPP insider.

Since Zardari’s return, the office-bearers – nominated by Bilawal – appear to have been sidelined and in background discussions, they have complained of being kept out of the loop in all important matters.



There is burgeoning feeling in the party's ranks that Bilawal has been an ‘extra obedient’ son, and has been amenable to everything his father decides and has been reduced to a nominal chief.

And while after the former president has been successful in wooing some ‘electable’ and persuaded them to formally join the party, many others, especially in Punjab, have either left the PPP or are planning to quit in the coming days, sources said.

The disgruntled PPP cadres in Punjab – the province that constitutes almost half of the seats for the National Assembly – blame Zardari’s policy of compromise in the name of reconciliation – for personal reasons – as another cause for the discord. They believe the former president’s policy of reconciliation has damaged the PPP to the point of its political extinction in Punjab.



“We still respect Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. We have been left with limited options for our survival in Punjab.  Zardari’s policy of reconciliation has left us nowhere. While in opposition you should be seen as opposition,” said PPP former MNA Murtaza Satti who joined Imran Khan’s PTI last week.

Firdous Ashaq Awan, a former PPP minister, is also likely to join the PTI, media reports suggest.

“Many other prominent names from Punjab – with significant vote banks of their own – are likely to quit the PPP in the coming days” a senior PPP leader revealed. Reportedly, the PPP demagogues in Punjab like Nazar Ghondal and Imtiaz Safdar Waraich are also likely to jump ship soon.