Sindh’s dynastic politics plague to continue
Dynastic politics has long been considered a plague given its promotion of nepotism and family oriented running of government; and like other provinces Sindh has also been a victim of it due to its ruling parties.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which has been in power in Sindh for a long while now, along with other regional parties, instead of curbing dynastic politics, continued to perpetuate it in the province this year as well.
For instance, the PPP's Nisar Khuhro is set to contest the upcoming general elections from Larkana and his daughter Nida Khuhro will also be a contestant.
Similarly, former chief minister of Sindh, Liaquat Jatoi, associated with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), along with his brother Ehsan Jatoi and his son Kareem Ali Jatoi, are set to contest the general elections on the GDA's ticket from Dadu.
And likewise, the son of former prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Ghulam Murtaz Jatoi, along with his brothers will contest the elections Naushahro Feroze.
Furthermore, the Mirza family of Badin district, also belonging to the GDA, will contest elections together, as Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, his wife Dr. Fehmida Mirza and their son Hasnain Mirza are all election hopefuls.
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Due to this monopoly of political families on Sindh's politics, they end up forming the provincial government and consequently have administrative and financial control over their respective districts and regions.
Sindhi Literature Board, a government body established for the development of Sindhi literature, has been under the control of the PPP affiliated Makhdoom family for three generations now. Makhdoom Saeed-ul-Zaman, a member of the family, has been the Chairman of the Board for the past four years.
Before that, his uncle Makhdoom Jamil-ul-Zaman was the chairman of the board for ten years, while his late father Makhdoom Talib-ul-Mola was the chairman of the board for at least two decades.
Similarly, the Jamali family of Dadu district, associated with the PPP, has also been very influential for at least the last two generations.
After the death of former member of the national assembly, Sardar Mohammad Bakhsh Jamali, his son Sardar Rafiq Jamali, became the PPP candidate from the same constituency and was also given charge of Gorakh Hill Development Authority.
Jamali has been in charge of the Authority since 2013, now - an entire decade. If Jamali, who is contesting on the PPP's ticket from NA-228, wins his seat in the general election, it is expected that he will be named Chairman of the Authority once more.
This level of political influence by Sindh's influential families, which has been witnessed for decades now, is expected to continue in 2024 as well, with the blessing of their respective political parties.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2023