NOVANEWS
By: ZAFAR MERAJ
The elections in Pakistan are over and new governments at the centre and in other states would take their respective offices soon. It will be for the first time in the history of Pakistan that a government that was elected five years back shall be transferring power to another civilian government. This in itself is a big achievement for Pakistan which otherwise has never seen any civilian government having completed its full tenure of five years.Although the completion of the electoral process in that country in, by and large, a peaceful manner and formation of a civilian government is being hailed by one and all, across the globe, what is not being talked about is the large scale rigging that has marred the entire democratic process. Especially in Punjab, which sends the largest number of representatives to the National Assembly, the modus operandi of electoral process has put a serious question mark about the free and fairness of the polls.
Like India, ‘in the larger national interests’, the so called national media in Pakistan is making all efforts to make the people forget about the large scale rigging to allow the new government take the country of the serious crisis situation that it is faced with. Barring one TV channel, ARY News, no one is talking about the crude measures that were resorted to by Nawaz Sharif led PML (N) to capture as many seats it could. Strong protests are going on in different parts of Pakistan, from Lahore to Karachi and from KPK to Multan against the rigging but you will not find any space for the same in any newspaper or TV channel.
For the last many days, ARY News has been regularly airing a special programme, producing irrefutable evidence of the electoral misconduct, large scale bungling and unabashed rigging by PMLN in full collaboration of the country’s election commission and various agencies of the respective caretaker governments including the police and civil administration. Ballot papers that were stamped in favour of candidates other than those of PMLN were snatched along the ballot boxes and then torn into pieces or set on fire in full public view. Capturing of polling booths and stamping of ballot papers by PMLN workers including family members of well known party leaders have been captured on cameras.
In one instance, the news channel exhibited duplicate ballot papers, with the fake one printed on a slightly different kind of the paper than the original and same were taken into account while counting. In another case, exhaustive TV footage was there, showing the ballot papers and ballot boxes dumped in the private vehicles of some prominent PMLN candidates for taking the same to polling centres. And to add to these, there are instances where the voted counter in a particular polling booth were much more than the total number of registered voters, making it more than 100% polling and in some cases even more that.
Surprisingly, all these glaring and blatant examples of the rigging and bungling that otherwise need no further evidence for proving the guilt and fixing the responsibility have not been taken note of by any one, not even the country’s election commission. The observers of the European Union in their report validated the otherwise tainted elections. Though it is difficult to opine as to why this criminal silence is being observed by various agencies some feeble voices pointing fingers towards the United States and its strong enough lobby inside the Pakistan.
It is suggested that US did not want any party hostile to it taking over the reins of government in Pakistan because of its strategic importance and to safeguard its interest in the region. It is said that because of its proximity with Washington, PMLN was the favourite of US and in support of this these quarters refer to complete silence of Nawaz Sharif, during his election campaign over the US drone attacks that have been killing innocent civilians in the name of war against terror and which Imran Khan had made a major election issue. Though Asif Zardari’s PPP is also considered to be pro US, it had to pay price for agreeing to have Chinese presence on Gawaadar port and also for the Iran gas pipeline, which was strongly opposed by United States.
We in Kashmir have been witness to large scale poll rigging with 1987 assembly elections having written a new chapter, rather a bloody one, in our history. But in Pakistan, the vested interests seem to have gone a mile ahead of us in this process. With Uncle Sam at his back Nawaz Sharif is all set to become the Prime Minister of the country (like Farooq Abdullah, after 1987 elections with the patronage of Rajiv Gandhi).
But will he and can he extinguish the raging fire among the large section of country’s population, youth and women included who have taken to streets against the electoral frauds. Pakistan is already burning with Taliban and other militant outfits active enough in most parts of the country. Will Nawaz Sharif be in a position to assuage the feelings of people who have been hurt by the electoral deceits and who otherwise can pose a serious danger to peace and stability of that country?
Like India, ‘in the larger national interests’, the so called national media in Pakistan is making all efforts to make the people forget about the large scale rigging to allow the new government take the country of the serious crisis situation that it is faced with. Barring one TV channel, ARY News, no one is talking about the crude measures that were resorted to by Nawaz Sharif led PML (N) to capture as many seats it could. Strong protests are going on in different parts of Pakistan, from Lahore to Karachi and from KPK to Multan against the rigging but you will not find any space for the same in any newspaper or TV channel.
For the last many days, ARY News has been regularly airing a special programme, producing irrefutable evidence of the electoral misconduct, large scale bungling and unabashed rigging by PMLN in full collaboration of the country’s election commission and various agencies of the respective caretaker governments including the police and civil administration. Ballot papers that were stamped in favour of candidates other than those of PMLN were snatched along the ballot boxes and then torn into pieces or set on fire in full public view. Capturing of polling booths and stamping of ballot papers by PMLN workers including family members of well known party leaders have been captured on cameras.
In one instance, the news channel exhibited duplicate ballot papers, with the fake one printed on a slightly different kind of the paper than the original and same were taken into account while counting. In another case, exhaustive TV footage was there, showing the ballot papers and ballot boxes dumped in the private vehicles of some prominent PMLN candidates for taking the same to polling centres. And to add to these, there are instances where the voted counter in a particular polling booth were much more than the total number of registered voters, making it more than 100% polling and in some cases even more that.
Surprisingly, all these glaring and blatant examples of the rigging and bungling that otherwise need no further evidence for proving the guilt and fixing the responsibility have not been taken note of by any one, not even the country’s election commission. The observers of the European Union in their report validated the otherwise tainted elections. Though it is difficult to opine as to why this criminal silence is being observed by various agencies some feeble voices pointing fingers towards the United States and its strong enough lobby inside the Pakistan.
It is suggested that US did not want any party hostile to it taking over the reins of government in Pakistan because of its strategic importance and to safeguard its interest in the region. It is said that because of its proximity with Washington, PMLN was the favourite of US and in support of this these quarters refer to complete silence of Nawaz Sharif, during his election campaign over the US drone attacks that have been killing innocent civilians in the name of war against terror and which Imran Khan had made a major election issue. Though Asif Zardari’s PPP is also considered to be pro US, it had to pay price for agreeing to have Chinese presence on Gawaadar port and also for the Iran gas pipeline, which was strongly opposed by United States.
We in Kashmir have been witness to large scale poll rigging with 1987 assembly elections having written a new chapter, rather a bloody one, in our history. But in Pakistan, the vested interests seem to have gone a mile ahead of us in this process. With Uncle Sam at his back Nawaz Sharif is all set to become the Prime Minister of the country (like Farooq Abdullah, after 1987 elections with the patronage of Rajiv Gandhi).
But will he and can he extinguish the raging fire among the large section of country’s population, youth and women included who have taken to streets against the electoral frauds. Pakistan is already burning with Taliban and other militant outfits active enough in most parts of the country. Will Nawaz Sharif be in a position to assuage the feelings of people who have been hurt by the electoral deceits and who otherwise can pose a serious danger to peace and stability of that country?
