Battling hearts and mind

My mind says we need established politicians to fight the surge of extremism. My heart says we need new faces.

This Saturday, 86 million registered voters, of which a third are either first time voters or are in the younger age bracket, will cast their votes to elect over 1,000 representatives to both national and provincial assemblies. We are told that this election will have many surprises. The biggest surprise, of course, is that we are having the elections in the first place.

It is predicted that the new voters will change the course of politics in Pakistan. One is hopeful that the change will be for the better. At the same time, logic suggests that if we vote in a new guard, we will see several months of stalemate as the trio that represents the status-quo in the country will be in place till year end. Change must come, be it gradually.

The new government has to act fast. For one, within weeks of coming to power, a budget will have to be finalized. And we are no where near planning for it. Apart from the budget, there are other issues to tackle.

Terrorism was not on the agenda of the main parties when they started their campaigns. But now it is the main election question – with parties clearly divided on the basis of their stance on this prickly issue. On the one hand are the supposedly liberal parties and on the other are the apparently religious parties. This is a somewhat erroneous description -possibly a better depiction would be categorize one side as anti-Taliban and the other as the somewhat-opposite.

And as some parties have figured it out, being pro-Taliban or ambivalent in certain parts of the country now goes in their favour. But the tragedy is to go for short term gains and sacrificing the longer term interests of the country.

Nearly 80 people have died so far in election related violence. Most have been in Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. People have been advised to stay away from the MQM and ANP’s polling stations because they are easy targets for attacks. Being Pakistanis, we love conspiracy theories. Now we are saying that these parties are in fact attacking themselves in order to present themselves as martyrs to cover up for their dismal performance in the past five years. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Ironically, the Pakistan Peoples Party, which should be most defensive, is taking it easy. It already has Sindh and South Punjab in its pocket. Its former coalition allies are now back with it as best friends. Now the PPP may possibly be waiting for the winner of the battle in Punjab to form yet another electoral alliance.

The question is, do we want to continue like this? My mind says that corruption will not end in 90 days. But my heart says that the people who initiate this campaign should get my vote. My mind says we cannot become an Asian tiger overnight. My heart says that supporting business and industry is better than consistently bankrolling the agriculture sector. My mind says we need established politicians to fight the surge of extremism and terrorism. My heart says we need new faces. Not the sons and daughters of the same people who have misruled us.

In all this, one voice of reason has the attention of both head and heart. General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, in his speech on the occasion of Yaum-e-Shuhda, put things in perspective.

He drew attention to the stance of some quarters. Despite all the bloodshed and the deaths in Pakistan due to terrorism, these parties and personalities still want to remain embroiled in the debate concerning the causes of the war against terrorism and who imposed it on Pakistan.

In his speech, General Kayani said he would like to ask all those who raise such questions that if a small faction wants to enforce its distorted ideology over the entire nation by taking up arms and for this purpose defies the constitution of Pakistan and the democratic process and considers all forms of bloodshed justified, then does the fight against this enemy of the state constitute someone else’s war. It is a valid argument. And well timed. Let us hope better sense prevails all round.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2013.