Pakistanis still do not know which party will form their next
government or who their next prime minister will be four days after the
hotly-contested general elections.
Despite former PM Imran Khan's detention and the many hurdles
thrown at his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), independent candidates backed by
the party stunned observers by winning 93 National Assembly seats, the most by
any party. However it is far, far short
of the 169-seat simple majority required to form Government. There were dozens
of parties in the fray but the main contest was among Khan's PTI, whose
candidates are running as independents, former three-time premier Sharif's
Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Bilawal Zardari Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP).
To some in Pakistan, the General elections are a farce - a major political party, PTI, is being
prevented from formal participation, while its leader, a former prime minister
has been convicted in three different cases over the last one week alone.
The Prime
minister of Pakistan (Wazīr ē Aʿẓam)('Grand Vizier'), is the head of government of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and
his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakistan serving as the nominal
head of executive. The prime minister is often the leader of the party or the
coalition with a majority in the lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan, the
National Assembly where he serves as Leader of the House.
We will improve tax culture. People will pay taxes because they
will see that their taxes are being spent on them. We will help farmers, the
business community and help the youth to find jobs and develop their skills.
Our money will be spent on human development. ~ thus spake this politician !! In
2019 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan asked his Indian counterpart Shri Narendra Modi to “give peace a chance” and
assured him that he “stands by” his words and will “immediately act” if New
Delhi provides Islamabad with “actionable intelligence” on the Pulwama attack.
It is turmoil in our neighbourhood Nation that shows animosity all
the time, a Nation that shares land borders and chequered history ! .. Not so surprisingly some media in India
started saying that India needs to learn from Imran .. .. the reality as always
has been far different ! .. what will
they have to say now needs to read and printed in Gold.
The fast bowler realised and found that political life is far
different than a Cricket pitch as bouncers and beamers keep hurled at him as he
stood with no protection. Things
are certainly not good for Imran Khan who had been dallying with lies and
propaganda against India and now realizes, fuelling Kashmir issue alone will
not keep him in Office.
I
remember that Pongal Test in 1980 at Chepauk when Pakistan toured India.
The star Batsman Zaheer Abbas failed miserably, getting out to Roger
Binny; some Pakis claimed that to be
result of black magic ! .. .. Sandip Patil debuted and we so eagerly looked
forward to his making runs – glaring at him in the net practice before the
commencement of the Test. Sunil Gavaskar
made 166 and Kapil bowled so well – a 7
wicket haul in the 2nd essay ensured a
comfortable 10 wicket victory for India.
Imran Khan ran in long and hard and bowled fast – took 5 wickets too –
those days there were rest days the 4th
day - 18th Jan was a rest day. Years later, in Feb 1987, Imran captained
Pakis and scored a ton, which was overshadowed by a brilliant 123 laced with 18
fours and 2 sixers by local lad Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Imran
Khan was a successful Cricketer before entering politics. One recalls that on that tour of 1983 –
Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Sikhandar Bakht, Jallaluddin – repeatedly
overstepped as Indian batsmen found the pace and swing too uncomfortable and
lost the series badly. After 2 decades of international cricket, Khan became a fulltime politician.
In
its long political history,
Pakistan peppered with military coups
and martial law, elections 2018 were to be
the second successive transition of power through a constitutional
process from one elected government to another. However, political opponents,
the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and international
observers such as the European Union alleged that irregularities and election
rigging occurred in many parts of the country, particularly in rural and urban
Sindh and Punjab provinces. Imran Khan
defeated their own system and became the PM of Pakistan .. and immediately spit
venom .. .. on twitter taking a potshot
at our Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, over the cancellation of meeting between
India and Pakistan. “Disappointed at the arrogant & negative response by
India to my call for resumption of the peace dialogue,” he tweeted”. Not so
surprisingly some media in India started saying that India needs to learn from
Imran .. .. the reality as always is far different ! .. .
The recent
times have been very difficult for Imran as there have been one blow after
another. In a blow to Imran Khan and his party, the former premier
and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in jail in the
Toshakhana reference. Last month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had
filed a fresh reference against the two in an accountability court for
retaining a jewellery set received from Saudi crown prince against an
undervalued assessment.
That
was Imran’s third conviction, including the one in the cipher case a day
earlier. That verdict came eight days
before the February 8 general elections, in which Imran’s PTI contested without an electoral symbol. A special court established under the Official
Secrets Act sentenced Imran and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10
years in prison for the breach of state secrets. Previously, he was convicted
in a separate Toshakhana case on Aug 5, and sentenced to three years’
imprisonment. Imran and Bushra were
barred from holding any public office for 10 years and slapped with a fine of
Rs787 million each. While the PTI founder was presented during the hearing, his
wife did not appear before the court.
If anyone were to think that poll verdicts had given any relief,
Pakistan's second and third political blocs have agreed to co-operate after
elections in which jailed ex-PM Imran Khan's supporters came first. Ex-PM
Nawaz Sharif's PMLN and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's PPP issued a statement saying
they planned to work together to bring political stability. If they do form a
government, the move would anger Mr
Khan's followers. His PTI party was barred from taking part in the election, so
most of its candidates stood as independents.
According
to final results, independents won 101 of the National Assembly seats. BBC
analysis shows 93 of them went to PTI-backed candidates. That puts them ahead
of the PMLN, who won 75, and the PPP, who gained 54. The two parties formed an
alliance to oust Mr Khan from power in 2022 and ruled until last August. The
Karachi-based MQM party has also made a surprising return in the polls, winning
17 seats, and could play a role in any coalition.
As
wrangling continues, independent candidates who did not win have flooded courts
with vote-rigging allegations. The result was a surprise as most observers had
expected Mr Sharif's party - widely seen as having the powerful military's
backing - to win, given Mr Khan had been jailed on charges ranging from
corruption to having married illegally and his party was barred from the ballot
sheet.
To
govern, a candidate has to show they are at the head of a coalition with a
simple majority of 169 seats in the National Assembly. Of the National
Assembly's 366 seats, 266 are decided by direct voting and 70 are reserved - 60
for women and 10 for non-Muslims - and these are allocated according to the
strength of each party in the assembly. Under Pakistan's rules, independent
candidates are not eligible to be allocated reserved seats in parliament.
So Pakistan continues to be under cloud and Imran .. .. is not in
any position of comfort.
12th Feb 2024
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