Pakistan: Is this only Punjab’s election?

Daily Times

By— Farooq Sumar

It so happens that other than Punjab all other provinces are affected by the TTP threat. Is this a coincidence or do we smell a rat?

Punjab’s role since the inception of Pakistan has been controversial, to say the least. Its dominance of the federal government, its share of economic development, with over 70 percent of the bureaucracy and over 90 percent of the armed forces from Punjab were a bone of contention for the 54 percent East Pakistanis and the other three provinces. That served as a major reason for the creation of secessionist forces in East Pakistan. After the breakup, Punjab has become the majority province with around 62 percent of the population, but it continues to grab a disproportionate share in government jobs and its hold on the armed forces continues as before. No real efforts have been made to remove disparities; the recent doling out of a few pennies is not the solution, as technical knowhow and infrastructural support needed to be provided to the deprived and backward provinces to close the gap. This failure has led to higher unemployment and illiteracy in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan as compared to Punjab, factors that encourage violence. Ziaul Haq’s administration deliberately disrupted Karachi and Sindh in the 1980s, but in the next 25 years no government has had the will to eliminate the criminal political parties and the mafia. As a matter of fact, all federal governments have provided legitimacy to these criminal groups. As a result, Karachi has suffered from violence and oppression of the worst kind almost continuously in these two decades and more. KP has been sacrificed twice in 30 years to serve the US’s interests and those of our local resident dictators, Zia from 1981 to 1988, Pervez Musharraf from 2001 to 2008. KP is a full blown war zone, the stench of death is all around and fear is writ large on people’s faces. The Baloch people have only seen the military bomb, strafe, kill and imprison their people in four major operations since independence and the fifth operation is ongoing. Hundreds of Baloch go missing and their mutilated bodies are found later. What have successive federal governments done to put a stop to this madness? Why has the powerful Punjab not used its clout to restore sanity and instead played a major role in perpetrating the subjugation of the Baloch? The deterioration in the three smaller provinces has been either ignored or precipitated by the policies of the overwhelmingly Punjab-dominated establishment and ruling cliques. The KP’s destruction since the 1980s was considered as dispensable, the Baloch were always considered traitors and, therefore, needed to be occupied. The destruction of Karachi led to the relocation of industry in Punjab and drying up of future investments; the loss of its economic dominance had its advantages for others. The establishment and the ruling cliques thought that as long as Punjab, the largest province, remained stable and intact, the federation was safe. What a dim view! Unless all the parts are safe, the federation cannot be secure. I cannot forget a statement once made by the urbane Syeda Abida Hussain on the floor of the National Assembly: “Mr Speaker, Sir, Punjab is not just a province, it is 62 percent of Pakistan!” Well, as long as Punjab does not learn to start behaving as a province and stop bullying the rest, the federation cannot progress. This attitude must change if we want to see this remaining part of Pakistan survive as one and it must start now by taking tough and decisive measures to thwart the Taliban’s and other criminals’ efforts to derail the elections in the three smaller provinces. As far as Punjab is concerned, there too are extremists of Zia and Hamid Gul’s creation — the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Sipah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, to name a few. Since the Sharifs are the political creation of Zia and were nurtured by Gul and the ISI up to sometime in the 1990s at least, their connections with the extremists have been rather cordial. Therefore, according to media reports there are electoral alliances and seat adjustments with the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, the successor of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba. During its five-year rule in Punjab, the PML-N has provided safe haven to these extremist groups. So the Jhangvis have been free to create mayhem in Balochistan and other provinces and kill as many Shias as they please and come back to rest and recuperate in southern Punjab. I suppose the deal must be that they are not to take any such actions in Punjab. Therefore, the PML-N government in Punjab has been exporting terrorism to other provinces by providing protection to terrorists in return for peace in Punjab. Politics is dirty one knows but such opportunism cannot be condoned. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP’s) announcement to target the PPP, ANP and MQM is a severe blow to the democratic aspirations of the people. The ANP and MQM are largely in KP and Sindh respectively, while the PPP is a national party. The impact of the TTP threat is actually being felt in KP, Karachi particularly, and Balochistan. It so happens that other than Punjab, all other provinces are affected by the TTP threat. Is this a coincidence or do we smell a rat? Why, for instance, are the PPP candidates not under attack in Punjab? Bombings are taking place every day in Karachi. There is hardly any election activity in this city of almost 20,000,000. Similar is the situation in KP. Public meetings and corner meetings are an essential part of the electioneering process. Without hearing the various candidates, how can you exercise your freedom to vote? With the situation worsening daily, imagine the chaos on polling day. The much touted police and Rangers have been ineffective and, regretfully, will remain so. Surprisingly, the other major players like the PML-N, PTI, JUI-F and JI are either silent or have made muted responses. There is no outright condemnation of the Taliban; there is no expression of sympathy or condolence. When even one party’s right to participate is threatened, the whole election process is compromised. The election cannot remain free and fair and its legitimacy can be challenged if the voting is insignificant. If the PML-N and PTI feel that only Punjab is important, they are mistaken; this is a general election and not just Punjab’s election. Responsibility and maturity requires a national approach to this problem, not a petty view that the opponents have to deal with it. Not only the parties but also the TV talk shows give one this clear impression as most are concentrating on Punjab. Sorely missing is expert analysis and legal views on this issue. What we are facing is a real threat of a major disruption in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and probably Larkana, KP and Balochistan. The belated decision to deploy 70,000 troops in aid of the federal government, taken as I write, is welcome. However, if this Quick Deployment Force (QDF) remains under the control of provincial caretakers the impact will be watered down, as it is a well known fact that some are quite partisan. Therefore, some modus operandi needs to be found whereby a call for help by a candidate or returning officer/polling station in-charge is monitored either by the ECP or the QDF directly also. This would ensure that the QDF’s response is directed in good time to where it is needed. Besides responding to calls, the sensitive areas should also be patrolled by army troops as a preventive measure. This operation needs to be managed well as its failure can cause irreparable damage. This election is important to us not only for a change in government but also to prove our ability to hold a reasonably fair and free election and continue the process in future. If it fails, God forbid, who knows what doctrines will be brought into play in the ensuing chaos.