"It seems none of the political parties have offered sufficient ground for people to vote across clan lines and instead opt for the agenda they offer. DESIGN: EMA ANIS
Despite the recent warning by the Election Commission of Pakistan that any candidate campaigning on the basis of caste, ethnicity, religion or sect could face disqualification, no one appears to have been much moved by these words. Indeed, it is becoming clear that across the country, clan is to play a vital role in the casting of votes and the victors that emerge from the process. All the political parties seem to be fairly well aware of this as are the candidates campaigning on the basis of their particular affiliations. To take an example for the two seats from Mansehra, NA20 and NA21, the clan factor seems almost certain to play the key role in an essentially conservative area, where people vote as per preset patterns. Complexities in party ticket allocations with brothers in some cases, contesting polls from neighbouring seats but for different parties add to the complications.
The Swati, Tanoli, Syed and Gujjar clans are powerful here. But even in urban areas, biradari or clan seems to matter a lot. Ticket allocations have been made on the basis of this factor even by parties such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf which claim they seek change.
So, why does this change not come? Why do people revert to clan loyalty, in some cases, above all else? The fault, it would appear, lies with the parties. It seems none of them have offered sufficient ground for people to vote across clan lines and instead opt for the agenda they offer. This can indeed happen. It happened in our country in 1970 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party, with its slogan of roti, kapra aur makaan, altered voting patterns drastically by suggesting to the poor that they could have a real say in bringing change in their favour. What happened afterwards is a different debate.
But the fact is clan lines were broken then, this can happen again and all parties contesting the polls need to consider why this is not proving to be the case as the campaign continues along the same mundane lines as in the past.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2013.
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I know for a fact that Nawaz Sharif is very uncomfortable when talking to Urdu-speaking people. Soon after he appointed a non-Punjabi (Musharraf) as the Army Chief, he started having second thoughts and was influenced by fellow Punjabi/Kashmiri Ziauddin Butt to sack Musharraf. It is said that if he is elected P.M. again, Karachi will suffer the most, as he will deny CNG to KESC and Karachi's industrial sector.
Don't worry clan lines and politics would not be broken at least one more time. With the TTP taking over the election process especially in KPK province only the rightwing parties have a chance to freely campaign not the secular parties. So each clan member would have a very limited option in the next election.
What I believe in Pakistan Institutions are extremely weak and people are mostly dependent on their Clans ( Bridaries) for the security of their lives, property and honor. It gives good chance to politicians to exploit the poor masses in rural areas.