The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is set to form the governments in Pakistan, and in the largest province of the Punjab after it emerged as the biggest party in the general elections.
The other major gainer in the polls was Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf while the biggest loser was the Awami National Party which was almost wiped out in its home province Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The former ruling Pakistan Peoples Party almost suffered the same fate in the largest province of the Punjab.
However, the next government faces some tough and complex challenges, which will need a long-term strategy, dedication and political will.
Today, the biggest problem of Pakistan is terrorism, which has also badly affected its economy. According to an official report submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the country has lost over 49,000 lives since the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States on September 11, 2001. More than 24,000 people, both civilians and troops, were killed in terrorist attacks during the period between 2001 and 2008. The last five years have proved costlier, in human terms. Another 25,000 people died during military offensives against Taliban insurgents in the restive tribal regions since 2008. There is no end in sight to the US war on terror, which the military calls its own. Its complex nature and the involvement of national and international players will make it the toughest nut to crack for the next government. Analysts say the PPP failed to receive credit for military operations against militants inside Pakistan as violence in the run-up to the election increased.
More than 120 people were killed in violence in the election campaign.
However, the Taliban failed to disrupt the election. Both Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif favour talks with the Taliban and an end to US drone strikes.
Widespread corruption, large fiscal deficits, low expenditure on education and health, chronic electricity and energy shortages, high inflation and soaring unemployment and low economic growth are other issues. To reduce the fiscal deficit, the new government will have to widen the tax net. Landowners will also have to pay taxes along with retailers and all professionals. For it, the government will require strong political will. The challenge of the shortage of electricity and gas has brought the life of the common man and economic activities to a grinding halt. The PPP's attempt for re-election derailed over the issue as it failed to resolve the issue for five years and the next government will also not be able to resolve it soon. However, the PML-N is expected to perform better on this front because it blew up the issue and made it part of its election manifesto with the catchphrase "Shining Pakistan". According to the experts, the next government can secure two consecutive terms if it only reduces power and gas outages.
The PPP also became unpopular over widespread allegations of corruption. President Zardari has repeatedly been accused of corruption. The stigma also badly hurt his party in the election.
Imran Khan seized on the public anger over corruption and vowed to get rid of it within 90 days of taking power. His manifesto included a series of measures to improve accountability and reinvestigate past scandals. Nawaz Sharif's manifesto also supports the establishment of an independent body to deal solely with corruption. Yet, it is difficult to see how a deep-rooted culture of patronage, corruption, nepotism and bribery can be eliminated in a short period of time.
The PML-N and the PTI were the only major political forces that were able to launch a nationwide campaign after the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan warned to target leaders and rallies of the PPP, the ANP and the MQM which were part of the last coalition government. The threats curtailed their campaigning and the PPP's campaign was particularly lacklustre as its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari could not address even a single rally due to threats to his life. The ANP had coined a new campaign slogan - "Watan ya Kafan" (homeland or coffin) - after the Taliban repeatedly targeted its workers and leaders both in Karachi and its home province, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. Hours before electioneering ended, militants kidnapped former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's son in Multan. There is no doubt that an uneven playing field in the election was also a major factor in the disaster for the former coalition partners.
The priorities of the next government will become clear in few months, but until recently, foreign policy, decision-making on major national issues and budget allocations have been at the sole discretion of the establishment. All previous prime ministers of the country had certain limitations. The people of the country have been deprived of basic rights and amenities since the inception of the country in 1947. No prime minister, even the most popular Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, could provide relief to the people of the country.
The people have been deprived of even clean drinking water and all basic rights, including education, healthcare, employment, law and order. They were left to languish in abject poverty and ignorance while political parties and leaders spent all resourses on their luxuries. However, it has been a practice in Pakistan to malign politicians and launch a smear campaign against them so that people lose trust in politicians and democracy. That is why most people still blame politicians, political parties and prime ministers for their plight, rather than holding the 'hidden hands' accountable, which have ruled the country with absolute authority for 66 years.
Undoubtedly, politicians are subjected to criticism for corruption and inaptness throughout the world and Pakistani politicians too are not angels. However, they had to shoulder the burden of failures and misconduct of the establishment, which brought a bad name to politicians and democracy in Pakistan. It is high time the new government used powers to serve the masses, rather than just coming to power. If the people of the country are still deprived of their rights, they will lose trust in democracy and democratic parties.
Before the election, experts predicted a hung parliament and a split mandate, but in Pakistan, nothing can be said with certainty, especially when it comes to elections and results. Governments in Pakistan are made, or broken by the establishment at the behest of the US. Some people say the US needed a pro-Taliban government in Pakistan before its pullout from Afghanistan, so that it could start negotiations with the militants, and punish the PPP for its handover of Gwadar Port to China and launch a gas pipeline with America's archrival Iran. Some fear the Nawaz government may end the gas pact with Iran under pressure from the US and some Gulf states.
The ANP has accepted defeat in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, but the PPP is silent on its drubbing. The PTI Chairman has alleged rigging in the election and said his party would bring out a White Paper. However, the PML-N government has a huge task ahead. Until recently, the PML-N government in the Punjab shifted the blame of all problems in the country and the province on President Zardari and the former PPP government at the Centre. With its government at the Centre, in the biggest province of the Punjab, may be in Balochistan and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, it will have no excuse if it fails to deliver. It will have to learn from the bitter experience of the former coalition partners or be ready to face the same fate.

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