With plenty of pre-election theatrics, enough for the setting of a political thriller, Pakistan has finally completed a landmark polls with a massive turnout of voters hoping to save the country from the disparaging label of dystopia.
For a country which had been described as a failing state for a long time, successfully completing an election is unquestionably a great attainment. But for those who followed the run up to polls, one thing became clear: the path was hardly smooth.
Peppered with abductions, accidents, killings of government officials, and a pre-election order by militants that women in restive Waziristan would not be permitted to appear at the voting centres, the landmark democratic elections had all the twists and turns! Sceptics at one point even began wondering if the election would finally happen or not.
After all, when candidates have to be especially careful about not being bumped off, the whole notion of democratic free polls faces doubt. While Nawaz Sharif and others rode in bullet-proof cars and were constantly surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan was possibly the only one to eschew such elaborate life-saving schemes.
Though risky, the move relayed an important message – a leader with a clear conscience and a transparent plan to help Pakistan find an identity in a new world does not need the protection of gun-wielding men.
The bravado in that move cannot be ignored but what if someone did plan to shoot down the former cricketer? In reality, taking down Khan would have thrown the country into more anarchy, thus jeopardising the possibility of holding the elections in the first place. Frankly put, no party wanted the votes to falter. That, per se, is a great advancement; it surely is a change from paralysing politics.
Despite the ingrained political instability and the relentless threats from the radicals, there seems to have been an invisible consensus among all parties to ensure that the polls are not disrupted.
That Nawaz Sharif would eventually come out as a winner was felt from the outset. However, Imran Khan and his ideology of a strong Pakistani nationalism sans a subservient attitude to the US swayed a large number of young, especially first-time voters.
Khan had been staunch in denouncing US drone attacks within Pakistan, which are aimed at curbing militants and extremists. His rationale is straightforward: these drones breach a nation’s sovereignty, bringing very little tangible result in the end.
Just before he (Khan) was wounded in a freak accident prior to the polls, a reporter of an international news agency approached him and asked about the war on radicalism.
Khan aptly responded by saying 10 years of US operations within Pakistan brought no reduction to radicals. Instead, these infringements by a foreign power only galvanised them, strengthening their resolve.
The ex-cricketer was not wrong. US drones have only fuelled anti-West sentiments and so, many young supporters of Khan’s party bear testament that young Pakistan has taken drones as an insult.
It would be interesting to see what stance Sharif takes on the incursions by the pilotless predators. It is relevant to remember, during his second term, the county emerged as the first official Muslim nation to possess and successfully test atomic weapons – a feat for which he enjoyed a period of unflinching domestic support.
At that time (1998), Pakistan was cornered as almost all nations condemned the tests. However, locally, Sharif popularity soared as he had been at the helm when the nuclear desire, articulated by Zulfiker Ali Bhutto years before, finally saw fruition.
Be that as it may, politics is funny business because soon after, corruption and misuse of power allegations coupled with a long-standing tussle with the army resulted in his ousting. There is a lesson in that fall from grace too – it does not take much for a hero to falter as a zero.
Whatever the case, let bygones be bygones and look to at the template of a new Pakistan. Just because the election has been held does not imply that all will be well. The slaying of the prosecutor probing Benazir Bhutto’s killing hangs over like a persistent reminder of the presence of deeply rooted force of evil.
Meanwhile, opposition to women empowerment is still a festering wound in the tribal areas. The shooting of Malala, the girl who advocated education, put the plight of women in Pakistan in front of the whole world. Again, what Nawaz Sharif does to improve women’s conditions would be keenly followed by others. The last troubling issue – which is deemed the most fraught by many – is the relation with India. For some odd reason, any détente between these two nations seems very tenuous. With the Mumbai bombing links traced to Pakistan, emotions in India are still very raw with bi-lateral relations exacerbated recently by the tit for tat beating and killing of jailed spies.
The two countries have fought three major wars and engaged in a brief skirmish in Kargil and still today, the belligerence runs deep. So much is the rivalry between the nations that the ultra jingoistic military lowering of flags at the Wagah border has come to epitomise the never-ending tension.
But leaving all concerns aside, the crucial question is if the newly elected government be permitted to end its term or, will some sudden tempestuous wind come and upset the scenario?
The military has played a prominent role in Pakistan since its birth though it’s widely believed that their lenient attitude towards religious elements provided a fertile ground for militancy to gain ground. Now that a civilian administration is poised to begin a new term, a policy to deal with radical items needs to be chalked out with fast implementation in mind.
Understandably, the first six months is always a honeymoon period characterised by a predominance of euphoria, but Nawaz Sharif will prove to be a prudent politician if, instead of shelving the pivotal issues, he takes them head on from the start. In politics it’s always better to go from sour to sweet instead of the other way round. Political observers say that Sharif has matured as a leader, losing much of his impetuosity that resulted in his ouster in 1999. In the current atmosphere of hope, we are inclined to believe it for a short while; after that, Sharif has to show results.
Towheed Feroze is a journalist, currently working in the development sector. Comment: [email protected]
