The Project by Syed Talat Hussain

Let us call it The Project. Since its launch over three-and-a-half decades ago, it has taken many forms and has gone through many stages. In the beginning, it was aimed at dividing the vast constituency of the Pakistan People’s Party by trimming its strength in the urban areas of Sindh. It also served an important secondary purpose: to wean away the Urdu-speaking population from the religious rightwing, which, while important at that time for fighting the jihad in Afghanistan, could not be allowed to become an uncontrollable political variable.