Opinion Printline Pakistan
Political excitement continues in Gilgit-Baltistan after its first-ever provincial elections concluded last week.
Poll toll
Political excitement continues in Gilgit-Baltistan after its first-ever provincial elections concluded last week. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won hands down,as Daily Times reported on November 16: The election commission has announced the results in 19 constituencies… PPP has won 12 seats,PML-N and PML-Q secured two each and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) won one seat each. PML-Q has accused PPP of large scale rigging… However,the party leadership has announced they will accept the result for the sake of maintaining the continuity of the democratic process in the country. Dawn added: MQM,a coalition partner of PPP at the Centre and in Sindh,has demanded fresh polling in nine stations instead of four as announced by the election commission. Similar charges were levelled by PML-Q which accused PPP of breaking all previous records of vote fraud… PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain alleged PPP had rigged elections in league with PML-N. Enraged protestors took to violence,reported Dawn : Eight people were injured in clashes between political parties in Skardu. The News added: No let up was seen in the demonstrations being organised by PML-N and MQM…A PPP candidate dissociated himself from the demonstrations,saying PPP would opt for legal options instead of violence… Hundreds of political workers took to the streets and chanted slogans against the government.
Minus one
The grapevine in Pakistan is buzzing with rumours about President Asif Zardaris unceremonious exit from the countrys most coveted office. Surprisingly,his opponents have indirectly come to his rescue. The News reported on November 16: We are against destabilising the democratic set-up. We have accepted the poll results,PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said. He said his party didnt support the minus-one formula. PML-N chief,former PM Nawaz Sharif voiced the unexpected in an interview to Geo TV,reported The News on November 18: I do not consider Zardari my rival… I neither support mid-term elections nor am I in favour of minus-one or minus-two formulas…The integrity and solidarity of Pakistan are dearer to me than becoming the PM for the third time… Terrorism always flourishes in martial law regimes… Consistent democratic regimes in India have blocked the way to terrorism there… If there is any threat to the democratic system,I will be there to block that.
The background of the Minus One Formula appeared in a detailed piece in The Washington Post ,which was carried by The News on November 17. It stated: President Asif Ali Zardari faces growing public anger and disillusionment over his remote presidency. Some critics are urging him to step down,and others predict he will be forced from office within months… A diverse range of people are denouncing Zardari as a corrupt and indifferent ruler. They accuse him of living in posh isolation while his country battles Islamist extremists,energy and food shortages,and a host of other problems. Zardari played on the backfoot,reported Dawn on November 17: No matter what our opponents said and no matter how much the party leadership was subjected to a campaign of vilification,the party will not be deterred and will continue its forward march in the service of the people… Some people write our obituaries almost daily but the more they write,the more they are disappointed and frustrated… PPP was not given political victories by anyone as charity,but had triumphed politically with the help of the people of all provinces… those hoping to weaken us politically are living in a fools paradise.
Peacemaker China?
An editorial in Dawn on November 19 hailed Barack Obamas idea to involve China in patching up Indo-Pak ties: One must welcome President Barack Obamas decision to seek Chinas help in improving relations between Pakistan and India… We must now wait for Indias reaction… As such Beijing does have some leverage with New Delhi and can use economic incentives to seek Indias cooperation in defusing tension in South Asia .
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