Elections expose myths, give birth to new realities, pose fresh problems
The Elections 2013 have exposed myths, given birth to new realities and posed fresh problems. Despite threats of widespread violence by the TTP, the election went off peacefully with the exception of comparatively minor incidents in KP and Karachi. The attack in Naseerabad in Balochistan that came at the end of the voting was attributed to Baloch separatists. This shows that if the government is focused and has the support of the security agencies and law enforcement bodies the terrorist threat can be contained. There is a general perception that the caretaker set up had good coordination with the army and the agencies and it generally performed its duties well. So one must thank them all for meeting the terrorist challenge successfully.
Unlike the PPP in 2008 which besides forming government in Sindh had also won many NA seats in Punjab and KP, the PMLN’s performance in other provinces especially Sindh, the second largest province, turned out to be insignificant. The party has relied almost entirely on the mandate it got from Punjab to form government at the center. This has led Altaf Hussain to describe Mian Nawaz Sharif as a leader of a party which represents Punjab rather than Pakistan The party will have to take concrete measures to remove the perception, which if confirmed can be harmful for the federation. It must not take any step that can be interpreted is to be aimed against a particular province. What is more it has to restrain Shahbaz from impolite statements that could further strengthen the perception.
Those who lost the elections can put up a better performance next time provided they undertake an exercise is soul searching. The PPP needs to ponder over why from being a national party it has been reduced to a body confined to a single province and that too in an election widely acknowledged as fair and free. The terrorist threat did it little harm in Sindh so the factor cannot alone explain why its leading lights licked the dust in Punjab. The party needs to have a series of inner party debates to honestly review its shortcomings. The ANP lost the largest number of candidates and workers in terrorist attacks. Whatever little it got from the polls is highly creditable for it. Most of the five parties which boycotted the elections in Karachi have accused the MQM of rigging. Charges have been leveled against the party of terrorizing the voters, kidnapping the election staff, and taking away election material from the polling stations of several constituencies. The party needs to consider why charges of use of force continue to stick to it.
