Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s fate in Karachi likely to be similar to PSP’s

Although many former Karachi leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf such as Ali Zaidi, Mahmood Baqi Moulvi and Imran Ismail have joined the newly formed Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) led by former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen, political analysts believe that in terms of electoral success in Karachi, the party’s fate will be no different than that of the now defunct Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP).

Many political analysts believe that the people of Karachi are well-informed and they know the circumstances that led to the formation of the IPP. They believe that even leaders like Zaidi, who served as an MNA and federal minister in the PTI’s federal government, Ismail, who enjoyed the Sindh governorship, and Moulvi, who was elected an MNA from Karachi and served as an assistant to the prime minister, would not be able to attract either the general people of Karachi or the workers of the PTI in the city who are in disarray.

“The IPP has no future in Karachi,” said Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, senior journalist and academic, as he commented on the political prospects of the party in Karachi. He added that the political parties that were formed as a result of political engineering had repeatedly failed in the past such as the PSP, Millat Party and Pakistan Peoples Party Patriots.

The academic asserted that in the current era of fast-flowing information, the general public could determine a party's future within weeks.

He remarked that while powerful entities might support the IPP in Karachi, mainstream parties like the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) would resist such attempts. Such moves would further expose ‘political engineering’, Dr Khan maintained.

Journalist Arman Sabir stated that the IPP appeared to have been created to bring together PTI leaders who had left the party. The political future of these leaders was uncertain, he said, adding that the main objective of the IPP for now seemed to be gathering and accommodating them.

Sabir believes that the IPP has no future in Sindh, especially Karachi. He said that if the PTI was not in the electoral fray in the future, its supporters may vote for the JI or even support the MQM-P or PPP, but they were unlikely to support the artificially created IPP.

Journalist Imtiaz Khan Faran remarked that leaders like Ismail and Moulvi lacked personal political influence in Karachi. He added that Ismail's victory in an earlier election was due to his association with the PTI, while Moulvi won a by-election benefiting from divisions within the MQM-P.

Faran said the strong presence of established mainstream parties such as the MQM-P, PPP and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) in Karachi and Sindh would render Tareen-led IPP insignificant in the province. He termed the IPP a mere "dinner party" where business partners came together.

When contacted, Moulvi stated that the central leadership of the IPP was actively working and holding meetings to organise the party in Karachi and Sindh. However, he did not explain when the party's membership would open in Karachi and where its headquarters would be.