Dubai: Pakistan has finally recorded a big change at the political front with cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan winning the national general elections with a thumping majority, according to trends.
The election trends show that Imran is all set to be the next prime minister of Pakistan single handedly without the need to enter into a coalition with any major political party. This means that he can run the government without having difficult and demanding allies.
In what is being termed as historic elections despite allegations of ‘rigging’ by the losing parties as is always expected, voters have given their verdict in favour of Imran for ‘change’ in the country. They have rejected the status-quo parties – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) who have been taking turns at the helm for the last three decades and faced corruption charges.
Another major trend in the 11th general elections of Pakistan was that voters, especially educated youth and women, turned up in droves at polling stations to ‘vote for change’ in the country. They also rejected extremists and religious groups who lost badly in this election sending a clear message to the world that Pakistanis shun such elements and prefer to have a moderate, forward looking leadership.
No doubt, the biggest ever polling exercise in the country was conducted largely peacefully with a little disturbance in some areas. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) has also swept the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province where the PTI was ruling for the last five years. What is more amazing that PTI has also emerged as a strong party in Punjab which is considered the stronghold of Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N. Imran will be an all-powerful leader if he manages to take control of Punjab.
Though Sindh province goes to the PPP as was expected, PTI emerges as the second largest party to everyone’s surprise. This again is a big achievement for Imran.
The role of Pakistan’s armed forces in helping the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct free, fair and transparent elections is also commendable. Now, they should stay away from any kind of meddling in the government-making process to thwart allegations of manipulating elections.
Without any bias, Imran Khan has emerged as a powerful force in Pakistan in his endevour to make ‘Naya (new) Pakistan’. Positive signs have already started showing with the stock market showing a bullish trend soon after his win.
He now must come up with immediate plans to fulfill his promises of changing the fate of the country through his economic, education and healthcare reforms. He will have to devise clear and forthcoming foreign policies vis-à-vis India and the US.
Major political parties must stand behind an ambitious Imran and give him a chance to prove himself instead of resorting to unnecessary protests to hamper a chance to change Pakistan.
