The recent elections have been held amidst expectations that this democratic exercise would set the directions of the polity anew. Going by the results alone, the cynics can easily conclude that no change is going to take place in the affairs of the country at all.
The parliament remains dominated by the families and clans who have been present on political scenario in the past as well. They have stood loyal to the democrats and dictators alike to ensure their dominance in the society.
The central and northern Punjab remains dominated by the one or the other version of Pakistan Muslim League. Southern Punjab remains as divided in its loyalties as ever. Politics in Sindh remains ethno-centric; urban areas have been swept by MQM while the countryside has stood by the PPPP. The ANP has just replaced the JUI in the Pushtoon belt while Balochistan remains as particularistic as ever.
“Sindh is different this time,” says Manzoor Isran, a political analyst from Khairpur indicating that there is lot of pressure on the PPP-P leadership to abandon the politics of federalism and concentrate on Sindh instead.
The tight grip of the MQM on the cities of Sindh has strengthened impression in the Sindhi intelligentsia that the interests of the locals and the immigrants are not reconcilable. The gains of the one constitute other’s losses.
That the ethnic feelings in Sindh have been inflamed after the murder of Benazir Bhutto is not surprising. While there is anger and anguish among the Sindhis, the concerns of the MQM in such a situation are not difficult to understand.
The history of ethnic relations in Sindh is marred by strife and bloodshed. No serious reconciliatory effort has been made since early 1970s when introduction of a language bill in provincial assembly to make Sindhi the medium of instruction met violent resistance.
The introduction of quota system for provincial and federal jobs as well as admissions in educational institutions and the nationalization of industries have raised serious concerns among the Urdu-speaking population of the province. The MQM squarely blames PPP-P for the killings of its workers by security forces in the 1990s.
It is also a fact that the MQM is a non-feudal party and it may be the sole mark of its disqualification for the leadership of rural Sindh. There can be a truth, projected by its rivals, that it is a fascist party. But it is also true that the countryside has not been able to dent its support-base and it is unthinkable that any government can stay stable without sharing spoils with it.
Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party (Parliamentarian) —PPP-P — has proved true to his words he had spoken at the time he was released from jail, after long years of confinement, that he wanted work for national reconciliation in Pakistan.
As he vowed then, he is talking about bringing harmony of interest now after his party has swept Sindh and secured seats in Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan. The dependence of the party, he happens to practically leads, on the smaller ones to form government in the center makes his pledge as the need of the hour.

He has not faced any difficulty in securing support from the past rivals of the PPP-P (PML-N and ANP) but his real problem rests with reconciling his party with the MQM that on its part is showing willingness to this end through appealing for ‘forgiveness’ to the both sides of the divide in the province.
Any drive for political reconciliation will have to be initiated from Sindh. May be the PML-N and ANP, the potential partners of the PPP-P, are not in hurry to end ethnic animosities in Sindh, but the PPP-P does need to tread this path.
Maintaining status quo in Sindh will keep the politics of the country in turbulent mood. If the MQM has got the identity of the party of the immigrants, the PPP-P does bear impression that it represents the interest of the rural Sindh.
To expect that the MQM will respect the will of majority and let PPP-P rule the province its own way is not realistic assumption either. The reason is that this party represents a particularly alienated group of population and is a highly organized entity. The worst can happen if the PPP-P and its allies abolish the local government system that has strengthened MQM’s hold in the urban areas of Sindh.
The ethnic divide in Sindh gets little attention of the political analysts as a factor of instability in Pakistani politics. Having their positions consolidated, the political parties originating in this lower province of the country have looked for support from other areas of the country.
PPP-P has secured seats from Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan, while the MQM had fielded candidates outside of the province for the first time. The PML-F is eying the southern belt of Punjab and has actually got a foothold in Rahimyar Khan.
The efforts of the MQM to enter into Punjab was duly resisted by the rest of the mainstream parties, but the question is how long this party can be stopped in making ‘encroachment’ on the constituencies dominated by the feudal and pro-fuedal parties? Why not address the problem that lies at the heart of the Pakistani politics?
Pakistan is a pluralist society. More than fifty-languages are spoken in Pakistan. While Urdu is the national language of the country, only four languages — spoken by majority groups in four provinces — have been officially recognized. Either the federation has to recognize every such group or deny the existence of all.
Though a solution has been sought through sticking to the religion but it has only resulted into the menace of sectarianism.  Peace and stability can only realized through instating sense of justice among the people irrespective of their creeds and colors and the one way out is to stay neutral and not imposing the vision of the few over the rest. This simply means casting off some burdens.
The PPP-P that is now in the leading position in national politics has to make difficult choices if it wants to realize the dream of a new Pakistan. How the country can wear a changed outlook, the answer rightly lies in forming the national consensus government — MQM too should be its part.