Mixed visions

It seems the country’s political parties are losing ground to religious parties and the country’s politics is changing

The announcement by the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) that it has unanimously decided to contest the next general election along with all allied religious organisations of the country suggests the emergence of a religious front in politics. This is a trend we have seen in the past and comes at a time when mainstream political parties seem to be losing their vote bank owing to their poor performance in and out of government. The most important lesson learnt from last week’s elections in a Lahore constituency wasn’t that the difference between the PML-N and the PTI was significantly narrow as compared to the previous polls but that a candidate from a newly formed party, which is backed by the Jamaatud Dawa, managed to emerge as the third-most popular party, beating the Pakistan People’s Party which had secured the constituency many years back.

What makes the PUC case a little puzzling is that the council itself was established 23 years back to promote sectarian harmony and develop consensus on religious matters among the various schools of thought. It was never supposed to be a political party. But its chairman, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, now insists that the council is registered as a political party with the Election Commission of Pakistan and has every right to take part in political activities, including the general elections. It seems that the country’s political parties are losing ground to religious parties and that the country’s political landscape is changing. While one can argue on whether this is a good or a bad thing, if any lessons are to be learnt from the election of the BJP in neighbouring India, it may be a cause for concern. The Modi government, duly elected by a majority vote, is intent on changing the political foundations of that country and making it into a Hindu state. The cost of this experiment is already being paid by the country’s minorities. This is a cause for concern for many who do not want to see the country heading India’s way.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2017.

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