Successful Elections Answer Pakistan’s Critics
By Maria Syed
Pakistan continues to surprise everybody. While the world was busy writing a requiem for Pakistan, lamenting it a hub of extremists and militants; Pakistanis proved the opposite. It is a nation that has stood up to the gravest challenges: rule of the military regimes and corrupt and incompetent elected governments; natural catastrophes; and most importantly terrorism.
Each time the war came to Afghanistan, whether in the 1980s or in the 2000’s, Pakistan suffered tremendously. The past decade has been the most stringent for Pakistan. From being a peaceful country, Pakistan was pushed into the throes of terrorism. Terrorist incidents were a rare phenomenon in Pakistan before 9/11. A few terrorist incidents took place with sectarian undertones with involvement of foreign hands.
Since 9/11, terrorism has claimed more than 49,000 lives in Pakistan including the lives of 6000 security personnel. The economic loss has also been huge. It is estimated at 100 billion dollars during the past twelve years, according to the new Economic Survey of Pakistan 2012-13 that will be made public soon. Besides the human costs and economic losses, internal displacement has also been a nuisance. Above all general feeling of insecurity and psychological trauma in the society is intangible fallout.
During the recent general elections in Pakistan, Pakistanis proved their resilience once again. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant organization in Pakistan, prohibited the holding of elections on grounds of being unIslamic. They warned Pakistanis not to vote or to face grave consequences and vowed to target political campaigns, as well as political workers and leaders. These warnings were no jokes.
As many as 129 people lost their lives and 496 people were injured during the pre-polls violence. Bomb explosions, suicide attacks, rocket attacks, hand grenade attacks, targeted attacks – all means and tactics were employed by terrorists to prevent the polls. Political rallies, convoys, leaders and workers were targeted irrespective of their political ideologies whether from right, left or centre. Election offices and security personnel also became the victims. Intelligence reports also indicated of possible attacks on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s (PTI) central leadership. However, these efforts to sabotage the elections did not succeed.
As the terrorist threat mounted manifold, Pakistanis refused to be hostage to terrorists’ agenda and be intimidated. Defying the terrorist threat, the nation turned out in large numbers to vote. The voter turnout stood at 55 percent in these elections that generally varies from 40 to 45 percent. The women participation was also phenomenal. The youth were in the forefront. There was a general feeling of enthusiasm.
Refuting the popular misconception that militants have made inroads into Pakistan and extremism has gained roots, Pakistan today is a nation of peace-loving people who want the democratic process to proceed. It has proven it time and again by bringing down three military regimes. The unfortunate experience with corrupt and inept governments one after another has also not abated the belief in democratic process. The support for religious parties is on the wane. It is most notable for the Province of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) bordering Afghanistan and Tribal Areas of Pakistan where allegedly militants have gained a stronghold. A centrist party PTI won with a clear majority in KPK. People have demonstrated that they are looking for someone who can extricate them out of current socioeconomic morass, a person with a valid plan.
Nevertheless, the new government that is to take oath soon must also deliver on its promises. It faces huge challenges on the economic front, on the militant front and also on external front. The failure to deliver will wipe out the victorious party from the electoral scene as it did to the previous governing party.
The international community must make a mental note of Pakistan’s outright defiance of terrorism. Resilience is an attribute that defines Pakistanis now. It is just a matter of time provided there is a good leadership that the country will prove its mettle. Hence no more sap stories about Pakistan.
Maria Syed is a Researcher at Islamabad Policy Research Institute, and an op-ed contributor to many national dailies. She can be contacted at mariaumair@gmail.com