And the good news from Balochistan

Confounding the cynics, the election season is finally here – albeit still not in full swing. Political parties’ parliamentary boards in marathon sessions are fully engaged in the process of awarding tickets.

Most of the potential protagonists are back in the arena. The good news is that Akthar Mengel has returned from exile and has decided to participate in the elections. And so have the other estranged Baloch nationalists.

Nationalists participating in the elections will help bring Balochistan back in the mainstream. This will go a long way in strengthening democracy, and Pakistan too in the process.

Some security analysts aligned to the ubiquitous establishment have raised alarm bells that nationalists like Mengel will declare UDI (unilateral deceleration of independence) a la Bangladesh after winning the elections.

This is a fallacious argument betraying a jaundiced approach. Had the nationalists participated in the elections in 2008, democracy would not have been the kind of cruel joke in Balochistan that we have witnessed in the past five years.

Musharraf is back as well. The former dictator is as delusional as he was during his misrule. He actually believes that the best thing that happened to Pakistan was Pervez Musharraf overthrowing a legitimately elected democratic government back in October 1999.

The first disappointment on arrival must have been the dismal few that gathered to welcome him at Karachi. Apparently he had deliberately chosen Karachi as his entry point perhaps assuming that the Mohajirswould garland the return of their own prodigal.

But the MQM that represents the Mohajirs unsurprisingly stayed away. Gone are the days when the party literally behaving like the ‘B’ team of Musharraf blocked the entry of the ousted CJP into Karachi on May 8, 2007. But who reads yesterday’s papers!

Musharraf actually believes that the Kargil misadventure under his command was a military success politically squandered by away by Nawaz Sharif. The fact of the matter is that Sharif as prime minister provided Pakistan army a fig leaf to withdraw from the heights by rushing to Washington to plead with Bill Clinton, then the president of the US. Sharif lost his job as a consequence of his temerity.

Interestingly, now Musharraf tells us glibly that murder of Akbar Bugti, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the Laal Masjid massacre never happened on his watch. As president in a parliamentary system, he blames the the prime minister who was solely responsible for these acts of omission of commission and omission.

Actually Musharraf is no longer a joke. He is a disaster. To claim that Shaukat Aziz as his hand picked prime minister called all the shots was perhaps the best kept secret of his regime which he insisted upon calling true democracy.

Despite distancing himself from his blatant excesses, Musharraf insists upon taking credit for the so-called economic miracle under him. There is no denying the fact that growth rate under him was impressive. Poor governance under the PPP led coalition was not his hallmark.

Nevertheless almost negligible investment in infrastructure projects led to the power and energy shortages late in his reign and blew up during his successor democratic government. International recession, which started in 2009, also took its toll on the GDP growth.

In this sense present malfeasance is a continuum of Musharraf’s maladroitness. That is why the former strongman should realize he has few takers for his so-called election plank. Nonetheless he should be given his due for having the bravado to return to his country and deciding to participate in the elections.

The Supreme Court is not too happy with the assertive Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), declaring that he is no monarch to do whatever he wills. But a proactive election commission is not necessarily a bad thing. This is what Pakistan needs right now. If the apex court can behave like a monarch, why not the ECP?

There have been musings that the octogenarian CEC Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim is too old for the job. Well, till now in keeping with the age-old saying, old has proved to be gold. One can question his judgment but no one has challenged his integrity, which is a big plus in the present Pakistani context.

Politicians have complained that the nomination paper forms are too long and complicated. As one US diplomat quipped they are not as circuitous and complicated to fill as the US visa form.

It is true that the CEC is asking perhaps too many questions from the politicians in order to declare them eligible for elections. Like for example the number of spouses, dependents and their assets. In the past too few questions were asked. Hence even this excess is welcome.

Thanks to the orderliness of the process from the top, parties are awarding tickets in a very cautious manner. Imran Khan has done well by refusing tickets to his relatives, setting an example for other parties. The first priority for heads of most political parties is to choose their sons, daughters, sons in law and cousins etc. over the rest.

The threat of terrorism looms large over the election process. The Taliban have made no bones about their abhorrence for democracy. Declaring elections as anathema to their version of Islam they have warned politicians from participating in the general elections.

Unfortunately those taking part in the elections will have to live with this threat. But what is really heartening to note is the enthusiasm amongst the old and a lot of new faces to be a part of the process. The number of applications for party tickets reflects that.

Thankfully through a consensual process the caretakers are in place at the centre as well as in the provinces. However the cabinets are yet to be formed. Sooner this is done the better. Especially portfolios like the finance minister and foreign minister should be filled without further delay. There are a lot of non-controversial and able people who can fit the bill.

At just a little over five weeks, the election campaign itself is going to be very brief. And then here are a number of firsts in the elections. Not only this is the first time that elections are being held after a civilian government completing its full term, it is for the first time that they are being held under a genuinely neutral caretaker setup and an independent election commission.

Some people have very high expectations from the caretaker setup. Fortunately they are only tasked with ensuring conduct of fair and free elections and running day-to-day affairs of the state.

Expecting them to clean the Augean stables in a few weeks time that they have and to fix the economy is asking for the moon. In any case holding fair, free and transparent elections is a gigantic task by itself.

The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today