Upcoming governments in these two provinces and at the centre are going to be run by right-wing parties.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: A very grim picture has emerged following the elections, which requires some introspection on the part of political parties. The Taliban were quite successful in impacting the election campaign of liberal parties while resorting to bombing of their election meetings and rallies, and killing of candidates. Their strategy bore fruit when the PPP and the ANP were routed in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, respectively. Upcoming governments in these two provinces and at the centre are going to be run by right-wing parties. These parties have been quite vocal about pulling Pakistan out of the war on terror. It would be interesting to note their stand on this issue in the near future.
The most disturbing factor is the elimination of political parties of national stature, which could claim to be visibly present in all provinces. Voting on the basis of ethnicity shows a weakening federation. Since the party which will form the government in Islamabad has got a comfortable majority from its base province, there will be a question mark on the representation of other provinces at the federal level. This may lead to ethnic polarisation on a mass scale. It is time political parties addressed the reasons which led to their being limited to their ethnic enclaves.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2013.
