KARACHI: Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Altaf Shakoor Chairman has said that nearly two decades of PPP rule in Sindh have not only exposed serious administrative failures but have effectively rendered the entire governance structure dysfunctional.
As a result, political influence, nepotism and vested interests have increasingly prevailed over the interests of ordinary citizens, he said.
He said the situation could not be addressed through temporary measures or cosmetic reforms. What Sindh needs is the establishment of smaller, empowered and accountable administrative units.
Shakoor said that further strengthening Sindh’s existing oversized administrative structure would only create more distance between the government and the people.
“Administrative units must be made smaller, the administration must be made answerable to the people, and the parallel networks benefiting from the misuse of authority must be dismantled.”
He said that the problems of bad governance were visible everywhere, but one particularly serious and apparently overlooked example was the functioning of cooperative housing societies.
He pointed out that residents of such societies were facing serious difficulties because of disputed administrations, alleged patronage by influential elements and manipulation of records, often allegedly occurring under the supervision or in the presence of relevant regulatory institutions.
Referring specifically to the State Enterprises Officers’ Cooperative Housing Society, he said the controversy surrounding its commercial plots and the manner in which the society’s affairs were being handled had raised extremely serious questions. He expressed concern over the alleged role of its Secretary and some of his associates. The individuals concerned has remained prominently involved in land-grabbing and other matters, he said.
Shakoor said the fundamental question was: who is protecting those exerting influence over cooperative societies? He questioned how the same vested interests repeatedly managed to resurface in administrative affairs.
“When questions begin to arise about the role of the regulator itself, accountability and transparency must also be ensured,” he said.
He demanded that allegations concerning possible collusion between officials of the Cooperative Department and vested-interest groups be investigated impartially by an authority outside the provincial administrative machinery, so that the investigations could be credible and free from influence.
Altaf Shakoor concluded that Pakistan’s real problem is not merely a political one; it is fundamentally a problem of administrative structure and governance reform.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026