LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party was seemed to have been forced to take its case to its electorates amid a sustained campaign by the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and also litigation by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) over the issue of recent recruitment attempt. In a rare show of outrage, the PPP took GDA head-on by deciding to hold a bigger public gathering at a place — in front of the Larkana Press Club — where the opposition alliance was to stage its own after taking out a big rally.

Stringent security measures were taken by police to prevent a clash between supporters of the two sides as the time and venue of both the gatherings was the same. SSP Dr Imran visited the place before the scheduled arrival of rallies to review security arrangements.

Jamil Soomro, the political secretary to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Aijaz Leghari, the Larkana District Council chairman, and Anwar Ali Nawaz Luhar, the city mayor, along with a number of LG members, led the rally and spoke at the gathering.

They strongly defended their party’s generosity in providing jobs to thousands of youths to counter the other parties’ allegations of nepotism, favouritism, sale of government jobs, pre-poll rigging and other forms of corrupt practices in the process.

Recruitment attempt at fag end of govt tenure echoes in both events; opponents allege ‘ulterior motives’

The PPP leaders said that their party believed in providing employment to jobless youths. They criticised the GDA and MQM-P for moving court and getting the recruitment process stayed.

They argued that those who were offered jobs had passed the Sukkur IBA-conducted tests and thus qualified for the posts they were offered.

Rejecting its opponents’ one of the claims that the process was started at the fag end of its just ended tenure and was aimed at bribing its potential voters, they argued that the delay was caused by a variety of reasons, including a ban on the Sindh Public Service Commission, several phases of Covid-19 and unprecedented rains and flooding in the province.

The PPP kept expecting that the Sindh High Court would remove the stay, but realising gravity of the situation, it provided jobs to qualified and deserving people during the last days of its tenure, they said.

GDA rally

Grand Democratic Alliance leader and a former MPA from Larkana Moazzim Abbasi, along with Barrister Kazim Abbasi and Adil Khan Unnar, led a big rally that emerged from Waleed town and reached in front of the Larkana Press Club on Tuesday after marching through various roads.

The participants were raising slogans against PPP, its ‘poor governance’ and ‘corrupt practices’.

Speaking to them, Abbasi forcefully repeated the allegation that PPP government had used dilly-delaying tactics in giving jobs. “Element of corruption in the recruitment process was evident. Not only the job offer letters were given to the selected candidates at the 11th hour, but the strategy adopted for the process was stained with money,” he said, adding that transparency and merit were openly violated.

He said favouritism, nepotism and political affiliation were the criteria for the selection of candidates. Those who had qualified different recruitment tests and been waiting for offer letters were ignored and disappointed, he regretted.

“We do support provision of jobs, but on a merit basis … what was done was murder of merit as offer letters were distributed on the basis of party affiliation whereas money mattered in accommodating people,” the GDA leaders said.

They called for giving jobs only to those who would pass the tests conducted by ‘credible’ institutions.

Protest by candidates

During the course of the rallies, a group of IBA-test pass candidates were holding a sit-in at the venue. They were protesting over being ignored despite having met the merit. The GDA leaders met the protesters and expressed solidarity with them.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2023