Karachi Political Diary

 Karachi Political Diary

Mubasher Mir

After reports of displeasure with the government by Chairman People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of this and soon the Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has been instructed to meet with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to remove the concerns. People's Party says that the PML-N government has failed to fulfill its promises. Refusing to divulge the details of the agreements, he said that his party was not being respected mainly for being a government ally. As if the federal government did not take some decisions by taking the allies into confidence. They are also not satisfied with the formation of constitutional benches. It remains to be seen how the Deputy Prime Minister addresses their concerns.

The federal government is planning to build  six different canals from the river Indus. The Darya Bachao movement has also started on this. Although the top leadership of the People's Party has not given any strong statement on it, the leader of the People's Party, Arslan Sheikh, who belongs to Sukkur, has said in a statement that the support of the federal government It does not mean that a compromise should be made on the water of Sindh. The Muslim League-N cannot keep the People's Party angry and neither can they tolerate each other's anger. Therefore, even the biggest difference appears to be minor. Because finally Mian Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari are there to find a final solution to all such differences. The top leadership of both sides has a flexible attitude towards each other.

People's Party has got the majority in the municipal by-elections. People's Party has won more representatives in all the districts. Other parties have expressed reservations on this. Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami are not satisfied with the election results. Nationalist parties of Sindh have also opposed the extraction of more canals from the Indus River, but they have not tried to establish their position in the local elections. Supporters of nationalist parties are scattered, they can gather for a protest and act as a pressure group, but their success in electoral politics is not visible. They take part in all the issues of Sindh province, but they are not an effective political force in the election.

Chief Minister Sindh has made great efforts to improve his performance. One of these successful efforts was a lively discussion on the Carbon Care Project on the Indus Delta at the Environmental Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Indus Delta can play an important role in improving the environment.

The decision to seek help from Russia to revive the steel mills is also significant. Steel Mills was a profitable enterprise in 2008, after which it started to decline and within two years it turned into a non-performing project. 22 billion corruption was exposed, the finance director and CEO of this institution faced imprisonment and lawsuits. The pension fund of the employees of the steel mills was also used, after that the mill was completely shut down from 2014.  It will have to be regenerated. The support from Russia is being welcomed by civil society because it was launched with the help of Russia.

A tough time is about to begin for the MQM as one of their long-time associates and former governor Ishratul Ibad Khan is launching a new political party called Meri Pehchaan Pakistan. Although he is starting it from Islamabad, his main and primary target will be the electorate of Karachi.

Dr. Ishratul Ibad Khan will soon reach Islamabad and start a new political journey. So far, no important person has shown his commitment to him. Dr. Ishratul Ibad Khan was the governor of Sindh for fourteen years, his time was the time of MQM's power, he was a very powerful governor during the time of General Pervez Musharraf. At the same time, many of MQM's own workers were killed, Baldia factory incident happened, May 12 tragedy happened, lawyers were burnt in Karachi, Benazir Bhutto's murder was surrounded by fire in the entire province. Of course, questions about these events will follow him.

Index is making record in market shares. But the business community is expressing difficulties.

The 12th edition of the country's exhibition on Defence has begun and this time delegates are coming in record numbers. More than 50 countries have become a part of it. The theme of the use of modern technology is prominent in the Ideas exhibition as IT and drone technology have made a splash around the world. It is being fully demonstrated in recent wars between Russia, Ukraine and Israel, Iran and Lebanon. Artificial Intelligence is also playing an important role in targeting. The outlook for future wars also seems to be changing. Along with army, navy and air force, cyber force has also become integral. With this defence exhibition, Pakistan can find ways to achieve success in defence diplomacy and defence economy.

It can be hoped that the political and military leadership of Pakistan will formulate a strategy considering public support as a necessity for defence of the country.