Shahi Syed vying for NA seat in negotiations with anti-PPP alliance

To secure his victory in the coming elections, Sindh Awami National Party (ANP) President Shahi Syed has put a condition before joining the anti-Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) alliance that he will be the joint candidate in the Landhi constituency of NA-230 (formerly NA-238).

The anti-PPP coalition that is supposedly inclusive of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) is, however, yet to come up with a clear plan regarding the distribution of candidates in the general elections.

The ANP, which is yet to formally join the alliance, has also not closed the option of allying itself with the PPP. Syed might opt to join the PPP side if the latter promises to support him in Landhi.

According to sources, the Sindh ANP president had expected from the PPP that it would not field its candidate against him in the 2018 general elections. However, as the PPP did field a candidate against him, he is still unhappy with that and that may become a factor for the ANP’s decision of not joining the PPP camp.

Meanwhile, PPP sources told The News that the PPP could consider seat adjustments in Karachi with the ANP if the latter was willing to contact the PPP’s Karachi leadership. However, the PPP would not take the initiative of reaching out to the ANP for any seat adjustment in Karachi.

Commenting on the ANP’s prospects of joining the anti-PPP alliance, Sindh ANP spokesperson Advocate Bahre Kamal said the party was not interested in going with the PPP.

“During the 15-year rule, the PPP government has intentionally neglected the Pashtun majority areas in Karachi. No developmental works were carried out while broken roads, unavailability of clean drinking water and non-functional healthcare units also restrain us from going towards the PPP camp.”

A delegation of leaders of the GDA, PML-N, MQM-P and JUI-F leaders had called on Syed in Mardan House on Friday to persuade the ANP to join them against the PPP.

Syed told them that for the progress of Pakistan and Sindh, it was essential for the ‘patriotic parties’ to unite.

“We will work together for the development of Pakistan and Sindh,” he said. However, he did not made a formal commitment to join the alliance.

Political observer Sartaj Khan while commenting on the recent developments in electoral politics of Sindh told The News that the Sindh and Balochistan chapters of the ANP always made their electoral decisions independently.

During the last government, the ANP in the centre and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was in the opposition but it was an ally of the Balochistan Awami Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Balochistan.

Therefore, the ANP in KP can likely make an alliance with the PPP but in Sindh, the ANP will join the anti-PPP alliance, he said.

“It seems that Shahi Syed want a secure future for himself,” Khan remarked, adding that in 2008, the ANP had won two provincial assembly seats from Karachi after making seat adjustments with the PPP.

The political observer said that after 2008, the ANP wanted to remain a permanent ally of the PPP in Karachi but the latter did not give any importance to it.

Khan was also of the view that the PPP’s policies had been discriminatory against the Pashtuns, which would also force the Sindh ANP to join the anti-PPP alliance.

He also stated that the ANP wanted to appease powers that be and believed that by joining the anti-PPP alliance as per the establishment’s will, it would secure a National Assembly seat from Karachi.