Elections roundup: Deja vu

In the entire hullabaloo surrounding the returning of Sharifs, one piece of news relegated to the kiddie table was Humayun Akhtar Khan joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

We all know that Imran Khan has been on a hunt for electables. But whether the former federal minister for Trade and Commerce is an electable any longer is questionable. The last time he won an election was back in 2002 on the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) ticket after which he made his ascent to federal ministry. He has not found himself in a legislature since then.

But perhaps Imran should still insist on giving him a ticket because the conditions will be very familiar for Humayun Akhtar. He cannot really be given a PTI ticket at this point, yet the way these elections are shaping out is eerily similar to how things were back in 2002. Back then the launch to the victory of the so dubbed ‘king’s party’ was propelled by a mass exodus of electables. Humayun Akhtar had been one of them, having defected from the Islami Jamhoori Ittihad (IJI)-Nawaz Sharif banner.

He did show some steel in his League days, defeating Aitizaz Ahsan in the difficult NA-93 constituency of Lahore in 1993, and going on to retain that seat in the next election. But it was in the Musharraf era that he became part of the Federal Cabinet, even being considered for the premiership at one point.

What purpose he will serve in the PTI in the short term is anyone’s guess, perhaps nothing or perhaps something. But he does indicate a growing trend of the sort of Leaguers breaking away to the PTI

The parallels with the 2002 elections are there for everyone to see. The only difference is that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will be a third force to be reckoned with this time. Also that there isn’t an actual coup-holding-military-dictator watching from the tip of his nose. It wasn’t subtle then and it isn’t subtle now. But in the current conditions, one can just imagine that the son of General Akhtar Abdul Rehman would thrive. It is a definite case of Deja Vu.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD: 

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) complained a week ago and they are complaining now, what hasn’t changed is that their election campaign is still being hindered. First it was in South Punjab and now it is in Peshawar. Once again the complaint is that they are being restricted in an area where Imran Khan is being given free pasture.

Despite all the personal attacks on him, Bilawal Bhutto is coming out of this looking well groomed and full of poise if not the natural charisma and people’s people personality of his mother and late grandfather. In the face of such situations, he is taking moral stands, questioning why League workers were being arrested yesterday. There is a Bhutto in this young man yet.

TERROR LOOMS: 

The toll in Mastung has crossed 150. This has now been one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history, and might just turn out to be the deadliest. National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has given the go ahead for the polls to be on time. That is a good thing because delaying it now would mean letting them win.