Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan while speaking to the press on Friday said that Karachi could not become a separate province.The PTI chairman said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement supremo Altaf Hussain and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari had “divided the province among themselves and pitted Urdu-speaking and Sindhi people against each other,” receiving votes on the basis of this hatred. The PTI leader was of the opinion that the “collusion for common interests occurred in the name of democracy.” He said that all the top politicians have corruption cases against them, adding, “The top two politicians who take turns in Sindh ─ one in London, the other spends his time between London and Dubai ─ have property in billions and large bank balances. How can they spend so much time in London? Ask me. I have lived there and played professional cricket in England for 18 years … Where does the money come from? It is Sindh’s money, it is Pakistan’s money,” he said. The PTI leader has said that the devolution of power at the grassroots level is a solution to the sufferings of the Sindhi masses, mired in extreme poverty. Feudal land ownership is, however, the real reason for poverty and injustice in Sindh. How can the local bodies get rid of the influence of feudal lords who have been ruling Sindh since time immemorial? The devolution of power will not affect feudalism and make no difference, as the existing power structures will dominate the local bodies too, as in the past. Imran Khan has bemoaned the plight of the Sindhi masses but he needs to know that many Pakistanis are facing even worse circumstances in other parts of the country. He needs to work on eliminating the feudal domination in Sindh and elsewhere in the country if he is serious about bringing in a change. He should therefore support land reforms in Sindh and throughout Pakistan. So far, he has been busy accommodating all those feudal lords who have defected from other mainstream political parties. No new faces or genuine leaders except a bunch of turncoats are joining the PTI. In their presence, how can the PTI bring a positive change? The PTI needs to work on internal reform first if it is serious in its efforts to work for the downtrodden in society. The PTI chairman’s opinion on the division of Sindh sounds sensible because it could lead to more anarchy in the province. He has rejected the idea that Karachi can be a separate province. Creating more provinces is not a solution to corruption, terrorism and bad governance. Empowering people and a system of local government without the dominance of feudals definitely can help.
pk.shafaqna.com
