Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Dubai: Elections in Pakistan, though few and far between, have always generated enthusiasm despite the socio-economic problems confronting people on a daily basis.
May 11, 2013 is a day that is being hailed as a milestone as it culminates the transition period between the completion of tenure by the first democratically elected government and the handing over process to a new democratic setup.
Successive elections have witnessed the ebb and flow of the political fortunes of the mainstream political parties as extra parliamentary forces that included military coups, exercise of supra-constitutional presidential power to dismiss elected governments as well as administrative factors such as economic mismanagement and corruption.
Disgruntlement with previous administration’s policies or sympathy votes for assassinated or dismissed leaders have also been influential factors. Despite these, the rural vote bank and even that of some urban constituencies is strongly influenced by the baradari system. While constituency politics is a well-established fact shaped by baradari loyalties or the ethnic/ tribal affiliations, there has been a new, noticeable trend that has emerged even among the vote bank that was traditionally considered a safe bet.
With the opening of society and advent of education and proliferation of media and mobile services, Pakistan’s political landscape has witnessed a monumental change. People can no longer be counted upon to cast their votes at the call of a local influential. They have become more astute and demanding. Accountability of candidates and their performance vis-a-vis development projects and proactive role in keeping in touch with their constituency population is now gauged, judged, rewarded or punished at the ballot.
What’s more significant is the role of technology especially among the urban youth and middle class. Even if Twitter and Facebook may not have caught on beyond the urban spheres, television, radio and mobiles have become tools for propagating messages among the rural populace. In this election, political rallies and gatherings, while still key, have become noticeably reduced especially in areas that have been affected by threats from militants. This is more so for those political parties that were part of the outgoing government which have made them a target for terrorists in these elections. As a result reliance on spreading the message and mobilising electorate for the polls through modern technological tools has become more widespread.
Despite the unprecedented terror attacks targeting politicians and their electoral offices in the past many weeks, the nation seems all set for polls.
According to Pakistani media, more than 40 acts of violence have taken place since mid April as a result of which at least 100 people were killed at the time of writing. The violence has seen elections postponed in at least three constituencies in Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad, when candidates were killed in targeted attacks.
While sporadic pre-election violence and incidents on the day of the polls are not unusual in some constituencies where bitter rivalries between electoral candidates supersedes respect of law and order, it was never on the scale we are witnessing now.
It is not an exaggeration that this election’s hallmark has been the violence that has swept the canvassing period forward, riding the tide of bloodshed and threats by a third dominant force. For the first time in Pakistan’s electoral history, it is the Taliban that has emerged as a potent influence.
They have ruthlessly implemented their twisted agenda — gunning down coandidates of political parties who are deemed secular and anti-militancy — especially the outgoing Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition, including the Awami National Party, ANP and the Muttahida Quami Movement, MQM.
However, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while stating earlier that their agenda was to attack secular parties of the last government, seems to have had a change of heart. Two attacks, one on a Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami Fazlullah (JUI-F) rally in Kurram Agency this week, killing at least 20 people, and another on JUI-F candidate Munir Khan Orakzai’s rally in Hangu in northern Pakistan on Tuesday sends a contradictory signal.
It also underlines an obvious fact that even the religious parties are not immune to the Taliban threat.
The TTP, claiming the Hangu attack, have said that they intended to target Orakzai, who they claim colluded with the Americans against their cadres. Ironically, Orakzai has denied that the TTP had anything to do with the attack despite their taking resposnibility for it.
Given the complex nuances of the growing Taliban threat, it is high time that all political factions, especially the religious parties reflect on the seriousness of the situation and revise their obdurate stance on dealing with this threat only through dialogue, as should other mainstream politicians who advocate a dialogue only approach.
Unfortunately, peace agreements and withholding of military operations against these militants have not proven conducive in the past and it is important to deal with them with a reasonable degree of pressure while keeping the door open for negotiations.
The TTP’s clear-cut message in denouncing the coming election and warning people against going to the polls is indicative of the growing role of terrorism in influencing the political outcome in the country. That the TTP pamphlets have been distributed under the nose of the state machinery that seems to have thrown in the towel and has in fact implored the army to step in to provide the security for D-Day, reiterates the extremity of the security threat. More than 70,000 troops have been deployed to provide a security cover on the election day.
The emergence of the new power equations in some parts of the country are also critical. Take Karachi. With a large Pashtun population, the previous stronghold of the MQM is now threatened by a rising challenge in shape of ethnic conflict and parallel Taliban treats. Being the commercial capital of Pakistan, Karachi has long been the seat of unrest and bloody violence. Unfortunately, both the PPP and MQM have failed to put a lid on the cauldron, allowing vested elements to battle it out in the streets.
The new government will have to deal firmly with imposing security in Karachi without falling prey to political pressure from the politicos holding Karachi’s reins or threats from the Taliban.
Security is not the only challenge on the horizon. Pakistan is facing a serious economic challenge and severe energy and power shortages. The bigger concern for people is unemployment, soaring inflation and electricity outages that have affected industrial production and badly dented the country’s vital textile industry among other critical economic mainstays.
Education and health are sectors that cannot be ignored given the burgeoning population — estimated to have crossed 180 million — which is likely to put a strain on the available resources.
It is extremely unfortunate that these sectors are often relegated to the backburner once elections are over. But given the damage the neglect of these sectors has had on Pakistan’s output over the past many decades, it is vital that these are given utmost priority in the next administration.
By Faryal Leghari Deputy Opinion Editor
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
