Dubai: Hats off to the Pakistanis who defied terrorism and Taliban threats and come out in hordes to cast their votes in the historic elections in their country.
Around 60 per cent of the country’s 86 million voters turned out, which is not only unprecedented but also speaks volumes of the fact that the majority of Pakistanis desire a ‘new Pakistan’ free of terrorism, and want to have a stable government in the country to get rid of corruption, inflation, power crises, unemployment and poverty.
The voters have clearly taken revenge on President Asif Ali Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) by rejecting them in the polls — they failed to get even half the seats they won last time with a tally of little more than 30 seats.
The slain PPP leader, the late Benazir Bhutto had rightly said: “Democracy is the best revenge.”
The PPP entered the polls with massive allegations of corruption, failure to resolve issues such as the energy crisis, economic issues, the law and order situation and above all, terrorism.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has not only won enough National Assembly seats to form the federal government but has also swept the elections for the provincial assembly in the Punjab — which has the country’s largest population.
However, the election has seen some dangerous trends this time as Pakistani voters split their mandate on the basis of provincialism and language. Punjab chose Punjabi politician Nawaz Sharif while Pushtoons chose pathan leader (Imran Khan). In Sindh province, the PPP led by Sindhi leaders garnered the majority of the seats.
Balochistan is an altogether new ball game where a hotchpotch of nationalists and national parties will be coming up with a coalition government of competing ideologies.
The trend shows that there is no single national leader who is acceptable to the people across the country. It will be challenging for Sharif to shun his Punjab-centric approach and emerge as a leader for all the provinces in the country.
Though Sharif will be comfortable placed with his government in the centre and also in Punjab, he will have to deliver, as Khan will not be a ‘friendly’ opposition. Khan, who has emerged as the third political force in the country, will remain a threat to Sharif if he fails to deliver during his tenure.
One big positive change after the election will be that Sharif, with a clear majority, will not have to face the blackmailing tactics of rival political forces because he is not in need of entering a coalition to become prime minister.
