Raja Pervez Ashraf, Speaker of the National Assembly. PHOTO: APPLICATION/FILE –
LAHORE:
As its footprint in Punjab continues to fade, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is turning to new local leadership and street mobilization in a bid to reclaim political space, even as its central leadership sends mixed signals on its alliance with the PML-N, a position seen as confusing and politically unconvincing.
Banking on freshly appointed officials in Lahore, the party is preparing for a rally on Sunday aimed at reinvigorating workers and projecting their presence on the streets.
However, even as it prepares for the spectacle, the party has sought to rhetorically distance itself from its ruling coalition partners, apparently attempting to capitalize on what it perceives as political space in the province.
PPP Central Punjab president Raja Pervez Ashraf has repeatedly maintained that the alliance with the PML-N was formed “in the interest of the state” rather than for political gains.
A day earlier, he had claimed that the PPP was pushed out of Punjab’s power politics through a conspiracy. However, Ashraf has simultaneously called for unity and cooperation within the ruling coalition, a position that critics describe as politically ambivalent and which has so far failed to resonate with voters in the province.
Ashraf was speaking to journalists after a meeting organized as part of the “Kashmir Banega Pakistan” party march. According to party sources, the gathering is also aimed at pushing for the inclusion of Indian-occupied Kashmir in the agenda of an upcoming international peace forum.
However, organizational missteps have exposed internal tensions within the party. The time announced by Lahore President Faisal Mir for the workers’ rally at Nasir Bagh was met with a separate media call to the residence of PPP leader Hasan Murtaza, where former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani was to offer condolences over the death of Murtaza’s father.
The scheduling clash raised questions over coordination and hinted at divisions within the party, before the Lahore branch stepped in to resolve the overlap.
Party members say the march is actually a test of the PPP’s strength on the streets in Punjab, where the party has struggled to maintain political relevance. Newly installed local leaders hope that the mobilization will help renew momentum and reestablish ties with workers.
A senior party leader, who requested anonymity, admitted that without a clear policy position, the PPP would struggle to gain a foothold in the province.
“Ambiguity may work in assemblies, but it does not work in street politics,” he said, adding that leaders should give more space to provincial leaders if the party hopes to compete seriously in the next election cycle.
During the press conference, Ashraf also highlighted the concerns of farmers, urging the Punjab government to address the growing agricultural losses. He said farmers were stranded and any delay in assistance could affect future crops, expressing hope that the chief minister would intervene soon.
