Pakistan: ''' The silence of the lambs ''

EDITORIAL :Daily Jang

It is the worst of times for the secular parties participating in the elections. They are being targeted for not being in the good books of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The centrist and right wing parties on the orher hand are conducting their election campaigns without any constraints. Of the four provinces in Pakistan, three are awash in blood. Punjab has not been touched as the TTP is tactically concentrating on the other three provinces so as not to disturb their bases in Punjab. This tactical tilt by the TTP has already been dubbed as an attempt to skew the election results. The plan seems very much in place to bring parties of the TTP’s choice into power. The recent statement by PTI chief Imran Khan, requesting the TTP to renounce violence during the elections and allow a new Pakistan to emerge through the ballot, is absurd to say the least. The TTP would rather have their own version of Pakistan, something for which they have split so much blood over the years. And if Imran believes that after coming to power he could turn the extremists around from their so-called desire to build an Islamic emirate in Pakistan to creating an Islamic welfare state, he may be living in a fool’s paradise. The same is true of the PML-N. If they think that having been left to bask freely in the election campaign the TTP would be easy to rein in once PML-N is in power, the party may be better served by giving a second thought to their approach to the TTP. At least 50 people have died since April in election-related attacks. More attacks are in the offing, as declared by the TTP. People are already speculating over the possibility of the elections not taking place. Just as every attack has emboldened the militants’ resistance to the polls, so has it diminished the confidence of the public in the elections. The fear of May 11 being bloodier has been reflected by thousands of teachers in Balochisran who have refused to do polling duty on the day. The caretaker Minister of Law has indicated the possibility of requesting the army to take over security so that the elections can be conducted without hindrance. Any means that guarantee people getting a chance to reach the polling booths in all the provinces should be adopted by the caretaker government to resist the undemocratic forces from establishing their grip on the polity. The TTP are killing, shooting and maiming even the innocent to disrupt the polls. None of the threatened parties — the PPP, the MQM or the ANP has shown cowardice in the face of danger. All these parties have shown solidarity and resolved not to back off from the elections, which are essential for Pakistan. The silence in Punjab over the miscreants’ acts is becoming intolerable. People are questioning the PML-N’s and PTI’s silence over the killings and shootings. Again if the notion is that all will be well once the elections are over, perhaps it would eventually be the centre-right parties bearing the brunt of the TTP’s nefarious designs. Everybody in Pakistan is trying to make a new Pakistan, the TTP, the PTI, and now even the PML-N has joined the chorus. Would it not be a better idea to save Pakistan from the hands of the militants and let it be what it should be, a democratic state?