Vantage | Why story of Pak elections is one of drama and fear but not hope

There is another election in Pakistan, so it is a busy time for its army. There is a lot of rigging and backroom discussion to be done. The voting is on Thursday, which is on February 8, and Tuesday is the final day of campaigning. Both Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto are holding rallies; their rival, Imran Khan, is in jail. So don’t expect a tight contest. But do expect drama. Any campaign’s last stage is often the most exciting. In Pakistan, it’s no different. Let’s look at the top five developments: 1. The rallies: Nawaz Sharif was in the city of Murree, which is a mountain resort in the Punjab province. It snowed there over the weekend. So the Sharifs arrived at freezing temperatures. Yet, a lot of people turned up. Thousands of supporters lined up along the streets. The good news is that Pakistan’s army also loves him. Bilawal Bhutto also had a couple of busy days. He was in Karachi today. Before that, he was in the city of Hyderabad, and in both places, he had the same message: Vote for me and bury the politics of revenge and hatred. “Some parties want to divide you on the basis of religion, some on the basis of sects, and some on the basis of ethnicity. The Pakistan People’s Party is the only party that wants to serve you without any discrimination, that wants to bury the politics of hatred and division, that wants to resolve the problems of poverty, inflation, and joblessness,” said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party. So Sharif and Bhutto are campaigning, and Imran Khan is still in jail. Chances are, he’ll be there for a long time, because this weekend he was convicted again. This is because a local court says Imran Khan’s marriage is “un-Islamic.” So he and his wife have been sentenced to prison. For seven years each. Nonetheless, his party is motoring on their campaign videos to show a sizeable support base.

2. Pakistan’s Election Commission has finally woken up; it has decided to rein in the caretaker regime. They were planning a big move. To sell Pakistan’s flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). It was bleeding money, so the caretaker government wanted to sell it. However, the polling body intervened and reportedly stopped the sale. A caretaker’s job is to keep the government running and not to sell state assets. 3. In a major security incident, terrorists attacked a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which around 10 cops were killed. Six others were injured. It’s not clear who launched these attacks, but the obvious suspect is the Pakistani Taliban. They have launched similar attacks in the past. The question is, will they do the same on voting day? It is entirely possible.

4. The rise of terror parties, one of which is the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, which is a proxy of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed. Most of their candidates belong to two groups: they are either related to Saeed or they are linked to banned groups, like Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Since those groups couldn’t contest, the Markazi League was created. A proxy among their candidates is Hafiz Saeed’s son. He’s running from a constituency in Lahore. Now, I know what you’re thinking—it’s just one party—well, it’s not. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, which is a hardline Islamist party with links to extremism, and what’s their campaign pitch? “You see, the Taliban are ruling Afghanistan; you can see their currency value rising; the country is making progress. So, we Muslims should trust in Allah. When there is the rule of Islam, all problems will be eliminated,” said Irfan Khan, a Karachi resident. Thousands of people attended their rally, so you can’t call it fringe. That shows how radicalised Pakistan has become. But don’t worry; it is not all dark and gloomy over there. 5. We’ve seen some lighter moments too. Like this man who is campaigning on a camel. He claims to represent farmers.

A distinctive election campaign in Punjab, Pakistan: Picture a candidate riding a camel, passionately seeking votes. He asserts himself as the ideal representative, urging people to support him. His promise? To be the voice of the farmers and champion their concerns. pic.twitter.com/DdyBZgEb3k

— Ilyas khan (@IlyasalviD) February 2, 2024

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Or a guy called Mr. Eggplant, whose real name is Amir Mughal. He is campaigning with an eggplant in his hand. This is because that is his poll symbol. Amir Mughal is one of Imran Khan’s many supporters. Since they lost their bat symbol, they have taken new ones. In this case, an eggplant. So that’s the story of Pakistan’s elections. There is a lot of rhetoric and a lot of fear, but not a lot of hope. The army is clearly backing the Sharifs to win, and only a miracle can prevent that. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.