Daily Times

Did the people know what
they voted for? Did they get what they voted for? Was their choice reflected in the results? Whatever answers one may give to these questions, for Pakistan it is indeed a reason for celebration. Its people overcame fear, defeated terror and participated in the democratic exercise most hated by the Taliban and their mentors. The voter turnout reflected the aspirations of the people to take their destiny in their own hands. The long queues of the youth and the old waiting at the polling stations was never witnessed since the polls of 1970.

Fearing the Taliban, the centre-left Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) did not campaign and the liberal voters got the signal of its half-hearted interest in the elections. Given the choices they had, the liberal voters who wanted to be weighed had no option but to vote for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). Youth were the driving force for Imran Khan’s campaign but he had no challenger. For reasons best known to the PPP hierarchy it could not during its term put forward a programme that had any attraction for the educated youth. The educated youth is the single largest liberal group amongst the voters yet it was never engaged in any way by the PPP. In hindsight the PPP would regret what it did to the foreign scholarships programme run by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Students in foreign lands were left in a quandary when their scholarships were withheld by the HEC citing paucity of funds. For the abject poor the PPP launched the Benazir Income Support Programme, but did little for the workers who remained jobless due to serious mismanagement of the power sector. It raised the wheat price, and resultantly, provided food security to Pakistan but poor marketing did not let it sell to the urban voter. The urban voter who was not the direct beneficiary had to pay more for his kitchen expenses and that did not let this achievement land well.

All the good the PPP had done on the constitutional side was of no use for the masses as it had little direct economic impact. The PPP floundered on so many opportunities that were presented to it and it has paid the price. All is not lost though and it needs to rediscover itself in the ideals of liberty, equity, social justice and tolerance that could form the basis of its revival. These ideals are equally attractive to the youth, women, minorities and the outright liberal as well. If Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is not prepared to lead from the front, the PPP should start looking for some charismatic personality to rally its supporters. It is high time it mends its relationship with Mir Murtaza Bhutto’s family.

The people of Pakistan have rejected the ultra-right outright and rejected the pseudo-religious parties who contested the elections by mostly electing their opponents. The pro-Taliban Jamiat-e-Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl was again given the election symbol of Book, which it uses as a religious symbol to attract the innocent voters. Yet it failed to woo the voters and this speaks of the maturity of the voter. Whatever Imran Khan may say to appease the right wing sentiment, the essence of the PTI is liberal. The explosion inside the madrassa in Peshawar in the province where the PTI is to form the government should be an eye-opener for Khan that at least some in the terrorist groups see the PTI in a liberal colour. The support the PTI received is, therefore, a sign that mainstream Pakistan does not want pseudo-religious forces to gain hold. Given the other choices the people had they voted pretty intelligently. As a result, it emerged as the leading party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The masses of Punjab voted in numbers. The support for the PTI, led by the youth, was seen everywhere. The declared results though are prima facie inconsistent with the sentiments felt in the urban areas of Punjab. This is indeed a cause of serious concern for everyone. The educated youth, which remained detached from the electoral process of the country for long, got involved in it after a very long time, not perhaps for themselves as they already were the lucky ones. They got involved for the sake of the rural youth and the have-nots who deserve a change from the past. They wanted these have-nots to also have similar opportunities. The allegations of rigging, therefore, need serious probing for if the will of the youth has indeed been stolen from them they may never rise again to change the system from within. This is an outcome that only suits the forces of darkness and needs to be avoided at all costs. Election results should be reflective of the will of the people and if there has been an attempt to steal the will of the people there is no harm in a re-poll. It would do the democratic process more good, as it would make the people believe in the power of their vote.

All said, Elections 2013 stand out as the collective reaction of the people of Pakistan against the forces of fear and this is indeed a reason to rejoice for all. The Taliban ideology stands defeated. Long live liberty. Long live the people of Pakistan. Long Live democracy.

The writer can be reached at thelogicalguy@yahoo.com