Anti-PPP alliance gains strength

SUP’s Jalal Mehmood Shah joins hands with GDA to take on ruling party of Sindh

HYDRABAD:

The Sindh United Party, headed by Sindhi nationalist leader Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, has officially teamed up with the Grand Democratic Alliance after signing a memorandum of understanding with the alliance's leader Pir Syed Sadaruddin Shah Rashdi.

The SUP is the second leading nationalist party after Qomi Awami Tehreek of Ayaz Latif Palijo to have joined forces with the anti-PPP alliance.

The MoU was signed at a meeting in Karachi on Monday. The two leaders agreed to a set of 10 conditions which are stated in the MoU. "The alliance will give a tough time to the opponents in the upcoming local government and general elections," said GDA leader Sadaruddin Shah Rashdi at a press conference held later.

Rashdi reiterated that the PPP-led Sindh government has been plundering Sindh for the last 15 years. "The cabal [in the PPP] which surfaced after the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto had only one purpose, which was to loot resources of the province." He alleged that the leaders of the PPP have turned the party into a commercial entity.

He blamed the ruling party in the province for even trading over unity of Sindh for the sake of power politics. Rashdi said the PPP left millions of rain and flood struck people high and dry as only the non-governmental organizations were seen in the field helping those who lost their livelihoods, homes, crops and livestock. He believed that only the army could keep the provinces united in the federation.

The GDA's leader contended that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, whose coalition government was also supported by the alliance, continued in power for over three years thanks to the PPP's undeclared and indirect support.

Shah, meanwhile, said from the platform of the GDA they will struggle for rights of the people of Sindh and will also make efforts to improve the system of governance in the province. The alliance's general secretary Dr Safdar Abbassi welcomed the SUP. He said both the parties have agreed to launch a mutual struggle for the rights of Sindh and its people.

The SUP leader Syed Zain Shah argued that the prevailing situation and existing problems in Sindh have become a threat for the province and its people. He alleged that the PPP's leaders are always saved from the process of accountability. He told that the SUP will contest the 2023 general elections from the platform of the GDA.

Meanwhile, the protection of the geographical boundaries of Sindh has been stated as the top priority in the MoU. The two sides agreed to make efforts for protection of the Indus river, its delta and the province's share of water as a lower riparian of the Indus. The demographic stability; promotion and development of Sindhi language and its recognition as the national language; acceptance of rights of provinces over the natural resources; and protection of cultural heritage and minority rights are other salient provisions in the agreement.

Rashdi and Shah concurred over the need of ensuring equitable share of Sindh in the postings in the federal government's departments. Implementation of the international protocols to ward off the threats of climate change also found a mention in the memorandum.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2023.