‘Elections and prospects’

This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed “Elections and prospects” carried by the newspaper yesterday.

The writer, Rashed Rahman, has presented, as always, a highly informed perspective on the current situation in the country. In other words, he has expressed the essential features of the entire situation succinctly, so to speak.

The writer has argued, among other things, that “The ‘pariah’ party in this polarised political environment is only the PTI. If it can be assumed then that the result of the election is a foregone conclusion, what does this say about the legitimacy of the regime to follow, and what effect will it have on its ability to tackle the imposing mountain of troubles the country faces, first and foremost the economic meltdown?”

In my view, things have become profoundly profound for the PTI rank and file in particular after both the top leaders of party, former prime minister Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, were awarded 10-year sentence in the cipher case by a special court established under the Official Secrets Act yesterday.

Ironically, the conviction of both PTI leaders was followed by a bomb attack on PTI’s rally in Balochistan’s Sibi that claimed the lives of at least four people.

It is important to note both the developments have taken place nine days before the general elections, which the party is contesting amid a fierce state crackdown and without its iconic election symbol bat.

The fact that the elections have been reduced to a kind of charade or farce cannot be overemphasized as the current political processes of the state have literally thrown PTI out of the election contest.

The situation strongly suggests that PTI is perhaps the only contestant in the election fray that has been effectively deprived of a level playing field from the day one. In other words, PTI doesn’t stand a chance of achieving any big or small success.

The outcome of the elections will therefore be surely challenged by the independent domestic and global monitors alike. The PTI’s predicament clearly shows that democracy in Pakistan is experiencing a setback.

Abu Adnan (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024