People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

 Pakistan's Flawed Elections

The elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies in Pakistan was held on October 10 under Gen. Musharraf's version of guided democracy.  The results have led to a hung assembly which was widely expected. The Pakistan Muslim League (QA) which is the pro-regime party has got 78 out of the total 272 seats. The Pakistan People's Party came second with 62 seats.  The most striking result is the rapid rise of the six-party Islamist coalition, Majlis-e-Muttahida Amal (MMA).  It has won 50 seats. 

Further, the MMA has got a majority in the North West Frontier Province and become the leading group in the Baluchistan Provincial Assembly. Both these provinces border Afghanistan.  The MMA consists of parties like the Jamaat-ul-Islami (JUI) which is the main patron of the Taliban.  The pro-Taliban coalition is going to run the provincial government  in the North West Frontier Province. The MMA has already called for the withdrawal of American forces and bases from the country.  Even if the religious parties do not join a coalition government, they will exercise strong influence.  The United States has to face the prospect of having a fundamentalist government in the border province where the Taliban and Al-Qaeda elements are taking refuge. 

Instead of marginalising the pro-Taliban forces, President Musharraf's policy of aligning with the United States and joining its global war against terrorism has led to the religious parties becoming  an influential force unlike in the past when their electoral strength was negligible.  The regime's tactics of trying  to isolate the mainstream parties has also contributed to the rise of the religious fundamentalist forces. 

The various parties are currently engaged in trying to put together a government. But under the present set-up, it is the President who will call the shots. The results have  only complicated the problem for Musharraf. His alliance with the United States is increasingly unpopular. The earlier referendum and now the current polls have not strengthened his position but unleashed forces which cannot be controlled through the  farcical democratic façade he has sought to provide his regime. 

For India and South Asia as a whole, the Pakistan results show a disturbing pattern. The success of the religious parties in Pakistan must be seen alongwith similar trends in the sub-continent. In Bangladesh, after the last elections, for the first time, representatives of the  Jamaat-e-Islami are in the Cabinet.  In India, organisations like the RSS and the Shiv Sena are part of the central government.   Alongside, the role of US imperialism is growing in all the countries of South Asia.  Imperialist penetration and rise of religious sectarianism are an explosive mixture which portends greater  tensions and turmoil in the region.  Both these factors  undermine national sovereignty and adversely affect national unity of the countries of the region. 

The Vajpayee government need not be smug about the flawed democratic  process in Pakistan. Its own policies of  kowtowing to US imperialism and promoting communalism is creating serious problems for India too.