Building a vision for the future

[HASEEB ANSARI]

Building a vision for the future
By Kamila Hyat

The 2013 election has gone well, for the most part, given the violent, lawless backdrop against which it was held. Turnout was high, young people voted in large numbers and the idea of democracy seems more strongly rooted than before.

Yes, accusations of rigging are there. In Karachi it was obvious; in other places too – but it is up to the Election Commission of Pakistan to sort this out. We need to develop a culture within which adversity is accepted, just as the defeated ANP veteran Ghulam Ahmed Bilour did, minutes after his defeat to Imran Khan from NA-1 in Peshawar. His dignified acknowledgement of a fair victory for an opponent was welcome – far more so than the strident talk of ‘white paper’ on rigging from Imran Khan. We have seen plenty of such documents in the past. They make least sense when they refer to constituencies where defeat has come by thousands of votes.

At this point what we need most of all is gracious cooperation. The challenges the country faces are immense, and they can be sorted out only by working together. We face economic crisis, a security crisis and a multitude of other problems including one of federation. The quick labelling of the PML-N victory as that of a Punjabi leader by MQM chief Altaf Husain does not auger especially well, and exposes the divides and divisions which exist.

Nawaz Sharif, who of course picked up most of his votes in Punjab, will need to somehow shake off this image if he is to emerge as a prime minister truly able to unite the nation and prove all its units can stand united. To do this, he must look at questions within Punjab, such as the creation of a Seraiki province in its south, as well as those outside it such as the lack of development in each of the three smaller provinces.

There are huge concerns here. In Balochistan, the rejection of electoral results in the province by Akhtar Mengal of the Balochistan National Party is a huge blow. Apprehensions about just such doubts arising had been expressed earlier on given the long delays in declaring results from polling stations in many constituencies in that province. The very last thing that Balochistan needs at this point is uncertainty and doubt of this nature. Pakistan needs Akhtar Mengal on its side if it is to have any hope of gluing the federation strongly together once more. This is something Mian Nawaz Sharif will need to set about working on very quickly, perhaps even before he formally assumes his new set of responsibilities.

The question for our country right now is where one should start to tackle its many issues. For the PML-N, it would make a lot of sense to begin with the economy – arguably its strongest point and one which affects people everywhere. But to achieve this, it has to take on many of the issues tied in to it, including the difficult one of militancy.

Nawaz Sharif has only recently spoken of talking to the Taliban. Let us now see what his points of negotiation will be with a force that has killed thousands and spread terror with a ruthlessness unrivalled anywhere in the world. Can any state afford to make deals with such organisations?

The role of the PTI in this, with an ideological perspective almost identical to that of the PML-N, and the largest number of seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be fascinating to watch. Indeed the Taliban played a clear role in this poll, preventing its ‘enemies’ from campaigning. The ANP, the PPP and the MQM should be proud of their place on this list.

The PTI of course was the main talking point for this election. The ‘tsunami’ may not have hit with full force, but Imran Khan has emerged as a big-time political player. He deserves credit for exciting young people and getting them involved in the political process. This in itself is an important achievement. Imran’s own efforts, ending with his awful fall, cannot be doubted either. But from now on we will be watching how the party manages on the big field, how it fares in terms of sustainability and what its longer-term prospects are to be. Imran has created hope. Let us see if it can grow.

Where there are victors, there are also losers. They need to be looked at too. The biggest loser is of course the PPP. Apparently it had not expected so decisive a verdict, pushing the party effectively back into its home province of Sindh. Yes, it suffered a similar fate before – in 1997 when the PML-N recorded its astonishing two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, but as many of us would now agree, that poll was manipulated.

An explanation for the figures recorded at ballot stations with many more votes cast for the NA rather than the provincial assemblies, despite balloting on the same day has yet to come in.

The PPP at that time could bank on bouncing back since the result was fabricated. This time, it is not, and a ‘third force’, the PTI, has occupied space, leaving less for it to fill. The party appears to be in a state of shock. It must, however, be praised for not claiming rigging – beyond the whining of a few inconsequential individuals.

The main issue for the PPP right now would be to think a little harder about what happened and consider its ideology for the future. It is true that right now there is some variance from the centre-right stance taken by both the PML-N and also the PTI – a factor that could help these two parties cooperate. But the PPP needs to consider attracting a vote bank from those who can benefit from an agenda that leans more strongly towards the centre-left and builds on the social-democratic traditions that the PPP still holds onto but with an increasingly weak grip.

For the ANP too, there is some serious thinking ahead. Its task is a harder one given the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The province and the tribal areas lying adjacent to it will become the centre of international attention over the next year or so as the US-led forces pull out of Afghanistan, and this of course will be a critical point in our political story too.

Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com