Daily Times

First time in more than 65 years of its existence as a sovereign country, Pakistan has witnessed a democratic transfer of power. This is not a small achievement. The political galleries were occupied with rumours and fears of stopping of election or delaying the electoral process. Nothing of that sort happened. Defying all odds people participated in the electoral process and has established their faith in democracy. On the D-day they came out in large numbers to cast their votes. In many constituencies it required guts to cast votes but many did. In this entire episode which party won or who is going to be the next prime minister remain a secondary thing; the primary thing is common people were put up for a test and they succeeded in it. They had to decide about a direction for their country; and they did it, with aplomb. Now it is the turn of the political leadership to not to betray the mandate.

The result of the election was not surprising to many Pakistani analysts. Since February, various opinion polls were projecting that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was going to win the elections. The outgoing government under the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) faced a huge defeat because many of its ministers and members were indulged in neck-deep corruption. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf could not do well because to win general election on the charisma of only one individual is an uphill task. As expected, in this election, people had rejected many corrupt politicians; and unexpected to many, even the Islamic radicals have lost their seats.

Talking about the prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif, he has been politically groomed under General Ziaul Haq’s military regime. But in his last term as prime minister he had a bitter experience with the army. He handpicked General Pervez Musharraf to be the chief of armed forces, after removing General Jehangir Karamat, who in turn carried out a coup against his political boss. His time in prison and years of exile has made Sharif a more mature politician. During the PPP-led government, he extended support to the government whenever there was an iota of rumour that the army was all set to march against the civilian government. His tryst with the army may impel him to take certain policy level steps to limit the sphere of army. If he does so that will be a positive step to maintain equilibrium between the civil-military relationship in Pakistan.

From day one Sharif has to face many policy related challenges. Internally, Pakistan is in turmoil. The level of political, communal and sectarian violence has increased. Sectarian and religious killings have become normal activities. Outgoing government tried to do something but could not because the radical forces are beyond the control of state institutions, it seems. Policy-wise, Sharif is considered as the supporter of “Punjabisation of Pakistan”. He has to remove this tag and work for a constitutional form of federal system in Pakistan. Last government tried for it by passing the 18th amendment to the constitution.

The main challenges for Sharif are on the external front. In 2014, the US-led ISAF is going to vacate all but nine of its military posts in Afghanistan. Nobody can predict what is going to happen afterwards. Political tensions are erupting between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Much of the internal problems in Pakistan have their genetic roots in Afghanistan. How Sharif is going to handle that situation is to be seen. Secondly, the increasing drone attacks inside Pakistan’s territory are a sign of disrespect to Pakistan’s sovereignty. This has acted as a catalyst in increasing anti-west feelings and boosting up support for radical militant groups. Looking into his relationship with the American establishment it is interesting to see how Sharif is going to persuade the Americans against the drone attacks.

Lastly, on India Sharif must continue with the good works carried out by the preceding government. Even he during his second term as prime minister reciprocated positively to the peace process started by the then Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. Bus services between Lahore and New Delhi were started. Steps were taken to increase people-to-people contact. The Lahore Declaration was signed, whereby the two prime ministers agreed to resolve all their bilateral issues peacefully. Suddenly, all those efforts were watered down by a limited war between two countries in the Kargil sector. That war was plotted by General Musharraf to scuttle down the bilateral peace process between the two countries. After winning the elections Sharif stated that he would like to continue the process from where he left. He has also invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan. This is good diplomacy to improve relations with India. The onus lies upon India as to how it reacts to the proposals made by Sharif.

To conclude things are not going to be easy for Nawaz Sharif. He has to take his steps very cautiously and carefully. Hopefully, he will prove himself a worthy carrier of a baton of democracy in Pakistan.

The writer is an assistant professor (guest) at the Delhi University, New Delhi. He can be reached at amitranjan.jnu@gmail.com