Mainstream parties without charity wings

ISLAMABAD: Despite the country being highly disaster-prone, Pakistan’s mainstream political parties don’t have distinct public welfare wings to undertake relief efforts in calamities such as the prevailing floods even though they have millions of workers at their disposal.

Only a few small groups, some of them with hardline agendas, have charities associated with them – but their fund-raising has not been free from controversy.

The absence of political parties’ on the ground in the event of national disasters means the void is filled by smaller groups – that too efficiently and enthusiastically.

The only parties with charities affiliated with them are Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who run welfare groups al-Khidmat and Khidmat-e-Khalq, respectively.

On the other hand, the country’s two largest parties — the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — which are supposed to receive billions of rupees as ‘contributions’ to their political funds every year, are found wanting in this regard.

Aside from the funds, the number of workers of both the parties number in the millions.

More than a million people assembled in Lahore when the late chairperson of PPP Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after several years of exile in the 80s. The same was the case in October 2007 when Benazir arrived in Karachi.

“These and other events suggest political workers are not very difficult to mobilise…the ability to get onto streets can best be utilised to cope with disasters,” a PPP veteran said.

Political parties claim in their manifestos that they strive to serve the people – and disasters are the time when they can make good on this, he added.

A top leader of the PML-N told The Express Tribune from Lahore that the party does take part in relief and rehabilitation activities, but their method of doing things is different.

“All of our MPs have contributed their salaries to help the party undertake relief activities for flood victims,” Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said.

Rasheed questioned the way JI raises fund to run al-Khidmat, using religion as motivation – which includes the collecting of sacrificial animals’ skins every year.

He also criticised the JI for using charity to achieve political ends.

Political observers believe that if political parties get involved in public welfare as groups, it can marginalise the influence of radical outfits.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2010.