Pakistan: Political parties being attacked

Daily Times

Spreading terror all around, the militants have stayed true to their promise of interrupting these elections by targeting the parties whose ideologies they find go against their hardline views. In the latest incident, an election office of the MQM was bombed in the North Nazimabad area of Karachi on Thursday, killing six people and injuring many more. On Tuesday, another office of the MQM was bombed in Karachi in an attack that killed four people. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has taken responsibility for the attacks and has vowed to continue attacking the campaign trail of the political parties they have threatened and blacklisted: the MQM, PPP and ANP. The ANP has already suffered many casualties with some of their most prominent leaders being killed by militant bomb attacks. It must be stressed that only those parties are suffering that have been put on the TTP hit list. This will inevitably skew electioneering. These political parties’ chances in the upcoming elections are being weakened because they are not being allowed to gather and organise their supporters. They are not being allowed to appeal to the public and every time they venture out of their fortresses, they are easy targets for the militants who leave no opportunity to make a hit. Parties with a right-wing or centre-right agenda and a soft spot for the Taliban and their types have been left out of the crosshairs and are free to conduct their campaigns vigorously during this crucial time in the run up to the landmark elections. One cannot help but wonder what the caretaker government is up to. Is it sleeping? It was very clear the moment the assemblies were dissolved and the caretaker set up put in place that this was no ordinary interim period. These pre-election weeks are dangerous days with some mainstream political players being forced to stay behind in the race out of security concerns. The TTP had made its course of action clear but where was the course of action of the caretaker government? Why has no high profile meeting and attempt at ensuring a safe environment for those contesting the elections been made? It is unimaginable that the interim government has not chalked out a clear and concise plan with the security and law enforcement agencies to streamline the election process. We have leaders and workers of key political parties being repeatedly massacred and there is no support from the system. These are hardly fair elections. The caretaker Interior Minister Habib Malik Khan needs to wake up and smell the carnage. He needs to identify that all is not well with these elections and that the militants are up in arms against the state and the democratic process. He is the ‘acting’ interior minister and he needs to ‘act’ the part. Does he not know or care that if the militants are allowed to run free like this, causing havoc and destruction, there is no guarantee for the safety of the citizens who are expected to turn out in droves on election day? Why is no one thinking about the fact that the militants are just waiting for a chance to inflict the maximum amount of damage to the state, democratic politics and citizens? It is time the interim set up started doing its job. That is, after all, the only way to ensure the historic democratic transition Pakistan is experiencing.