According to unofficial election results, candidates of extremist outfits that were contesting the general elections across the country did not manage to win any seat in the national assembly. Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) chief Ahmad Ludhianvi who was running in the elections from Jhang’s NA 115 under a different platform called Pakistan Rah-e-Haq Party, was defeated by woman candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ghulam Bibi Bharwana. Aurangzeb Farooqi, head of ASWJ Karachi chapter, lost to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in NA 238 Karachi, despite his seat adjustment with Pakistan Muslim League – N (PML-N) and PTI.
Extremist cleric Khadim Rizvi’s Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and Hafiz Saeed-backed Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, the new entrants to electoral arena, also remained unable to bag any seat despite their massive campaign.
The election results indicate that people have rejected the violent rhetoric and divisive politics practiced by these extremist groups. Needless to say, the eradication of extremist elements is one of the positive things to come out of the general elections. However, now is the time to question as to why these groups were allowed to contest the polls in the first place? Terror suspects whose names were listed on the Fourth Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) were also given a free chit by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) despite civil society’s petitions against the same.
Meanwhile, it is also disturbing that many candidates from the three major parties had also entered into alliances with terror groups for the elections.
Religious groups enjoy some following among the masses but never have they been voted to power. Pakistanis do not look up to religious bigots and it appears that such elements are being imposed on us in the name of ‘mainstreaming’. Much has been said on how this approach of dealing with extremism is flawed at best. Mainstreaming of terror groups in hopes of turning them away from terrorism would be counterproductive because several such experiments have backfired in the past.
People of Pakistan have given their verdict against extremists and any further efforts by the state to get such groups involved in the political process would be an insult to the electorate. *
Published in Daily Times, July 27th 2018.
Child sexual exploitation, the ugly reality no one wants to acknowledge, is deeply ingrained in…
Bad blood-related news comes from Balochistan almost every other day. And the attack on a…
Donald Trump's victory as the President of the United States has raised numerous new questions…
The International Cricket Council (ICC) finds itself entangled in an unwarranted controversy sparked by India's…
Leave a Comment