Disturbing theme in Pakistan election results

skeptic-f · May 13, 2013

Nawaz Sharif appears on course to secure a majority in Pakistan's parliament and form the next government after claiming victory in Saturday's election. Unofficial results suggest his Pakistan Muslim League has won easily, though he has reportedly opened talks with independents to guarantee a majority.

Mr Sharif is set to become prime minister for the third time. Former cricketer Imran Khan, whose Movement for Justice Party (PTI) is in a close fight for second place, has promised to provide genuine opposition.

Analysts say Mr Sharif, 63, is in a far stronger position than the outgoing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) which led a weak coalition, often on the verge of collapse. The PPP of late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was badly beaten in the election. IT WAS ONE OF SEVERAL SECULAR PARTIES UNABLE TO CAMPAIGN FREELY DUE TO TALIBAN IN PAKISTAN ATTACKS.

Pakistani media say Mr Sharif's PML-N has so far captured at least 125 seats with the PTI and the PPP on around 30 each. Analysts said the PML-N was likely to win around 130 seats and should be able to make up the required majority of 137 with support from independents and small parties.

Once it achieves a majority, Mr Sharif's party would be allocated most of 70 other parliamentary seats reserved for women and non-Muslim minorities.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22506036

THE DISTURBING TREND IN THE ELECTION WAS THAT MUSLIM EXTREMIST VIOLENCE WAS WIDESPREAD ENOUGH THAT IT HURT THE CAMPAIGNING OF SECULAR PARTIES AND GAVE AN EASY VICTORY TO A MUSLIM PARTY WHICH NOW HAS REASON TO BOTH PLACATE AND BE FEARFUL OF THE ISLAMO-FASCISTS IN PAKISTAN.

moon · May 13, 2013

How America’s War on Terror became a Global War on Tribal Islam

Summary

Along with the ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, America’s global war on terror has been characterized by the use of drones. In his new book, The Thistle and the Drone (Brookings, 2013), Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World Nonresident Senior Fellow Akbar Ahmed—the Ibn Khaldun chair of Islamic Studies at American University and former Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom— examines the tribal societies on the borders between nations who are the drones' primary victims. He provides a fresh and unprecedented paradigm for understanding the war on terror, based in the broken relationship between these tribal societies and their central governments. Beginning with Waziristan in Pakistan and expanding to similar tribal societies in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, Ahmed demonstrates how America's war on terror became a global war on tribal Islam. This is the third volume in his trilogy about relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world after 9/11 that includes Journey into Islam (Brookings, 2007) and Journey into America (Brookings, 2010).

http://www.brookings.edu/events/2013/03/14-thistle-drone#ref-id=20130314_Ahmed
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It's their country and ' democracy ' is not the best system for them all. Our own ' democracy ' is broken and they are well aware of the example we set.

waltky · May 13, 2013

The Comeback Kid...

Pakistan's next premier an Islamist comeback kid
May 13,`13 -- The man set to become Pakistan's next prime minister after historic elections over the weekend could be called the Islamist comeback kid.

Nawaz Sharif has held the job twice before, but the last time didn't end so well. The 63-year-old was toppled in a coup by the country's army chief in 1999 and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia. He spent years in the steamy Gulf before brokering his return in 2007. After serving as the country's main opposition leader, Sharif came roaring back in Saturday's elections, in which his Pakistan Muslim League-N party scored a resounding victory. Sharif's supporters believe his pro-business background and years of experience in government make him the right person to tackle the country's many economic woes, like growing power cuts, painful inflation and widespread unemployment. He is also a main proponent of improving ties with Pakistan's archenemy and neighbor India, a step that would likely boost his country's economy.

Critics worry that Sharif, who is known to be personally very religious, is soft on Islamic extremism and won't crack down on militants that pose a serious threat to Pakistan and other countries - chief among them the Taliban and al-Qaida-linked groups. The United States will be watching Sharif closely, since Washington relies on help from Islamabad to fight Islamic militants in Pakistan and to negotiate an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan. The son of a wealthy industrialist from central Punjab province, Sharif entered politics as a protege of Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who seized power in a military coup in 1977. Sharif was prime minister from 1990-93 and again from 1997-99.

Sharif's second stint in power was cut short when he was toppled in a military coup and sent into exile by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who was then serving as army chief. The coup followed an attempt by Sharif to fire Musharraf by preventing his plane from landing when he returned from a trip abroad. In an ironic twist, Musharraf is currently under house arrest in Pakistan after returning from self-imposed exile, and it will be up to Sharif's government to decide whether to bring treason charges against the former military strongman. Following the 1999 coup, Sharif spent seven years in exile before Musharraf grudgingly allowed him to return in November 2007, apparently under pressure from Saudi Arabia's king, an important ally of Pakistan.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto also returned from exile around the same time to run for parliament, but she was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack at the end of 2007, before the election. Sharif also intended to run in the 2008 election, but he was disqualified by a court because of a conviction on terrorism and hijacking charges, stemming from Musharraf's coup. Sharif insisted the conviction was politically motivated, and it was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2009.

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Pakistan's Sharif wants good relations with US
May 13,`13 -- Pakistan's presumptive new prime minister said Monday that Islamabad has "good relations" with the United States, but called the CIA's drone campaign in the country's tribal region a challenge to national sovereignty.

Nawaz Sharif spoke to reporters from his family's estate outside the eastern city of Lahore two days after his Pakistan Muslim League-N party won a resounding victory in national elections. His comments were the first indication since the vote about how he would approach relations with the U.S., a strategic ally with whom Pakistan has often been at odds. The U.S. needs Pakistan's support in fighting Islamic militants in the country and negotiating an end to the war in neighboring Afghanistan. Some of his statements have suggested he could have a more adversarial relationship with Washington than the outgoing government. Sharif also was outspoken in his opposition to drone strikes, which are unpopular in Pakistan.

However, analysts caution that while such rhetoric sells on the campaign trail where anti-American sentiment is high, Sharif would likely take a more nuanced approach to U.S. relations once in office. "I think we have good relations with the United States of America. We certainly have to listen to each other," he said. "If there are any concerns on any side, I think we should address those concerns." The CIA's drone campaign targeting al-Qaida and other militants in the tribal regions has been extremely controversial in Pakistan, where people say it frequently kills innocent civilians - something Washington denies - and that it violates Pakistan's sovereignty. "Drones indeed are challenging our sovereignty. Of course we have taken this matter up very seriously. I think this is a very serious issue, and our concern must be understood properly," said Sharif.

But Pakistan has a long history of officials condemning the strikes in public and supporting them in private, and how aggressively Sharif pushes the U.S. may depend on how much he needs it in other areas. Pakistan relies on the U.S. for hundreds of millions of dollars in aid every year. But even more importantly, Pakistan would likely need U.S. support to get a bailout it desperately needs from the International Monetary Fund because of the government's shaky financial situation.

Pakistan will likely play a strong role in any reconciliation deal with Taliban militants in neighboring Afghanistan. Also, much of the American military equipment that must be shipped out of Afghanistan when the international coalition there ends its combat mission in 2014 will go through the port city of Karachi in southern Pakistan. Sharif said he would facilitate the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. "American troops are being withdrawn in 2014. We will extend full support to them. We will see that everything goes well and smoothly," he said.

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Giftedone · May 13, 2013

waltky said: ↑

The Comeback Kid...

Pakistan's next premier an Islamist comeback kid
May 13,`13 -- The man set to become Pakistan's next prime minister after historic elections over the weekend could be called the Islamist comeback kid.

See also:

Pakistan's Sharif wants good relations with US
May 13,`13 -- Pakistan's presumptive new prime minister said Monday that Islamabad has "good relations" with the United States, but called the CIA's drone campaign in the country's tribal region a challenge to national sovereignty.
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It will not be long before US activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan are over. This will be good for the US.

Pakistan needs to sort out some serious issues and our military involvement is not helping.

waltky · May 24, 2013

Who gonna be the 'power behind the throne'?...

Can Nawaz Sharif walk the military tightrope?
24 May 2013 - Nawaz Sharif knows better than anyone how powerful Pakistan's military are. He was toppled by them in 1999. So who is really going to be running the country now that he will be prime minister?

In Pakistan's politically savvy drawing-rooms conversations inevitably come round to the question of whether Mr Sharif has learned any lessons from the past. Back in the late 1990s, when he commanded a two-thirds majority in parliament, he sacked one army chief, and nearly sacked another. The second one launched a dramatic counter-coup and Mr Sharif ended up exiled in Saudi Arabia. Months earlier, just when he had been trying to mend fences with arch-rival India, the generals rained on his parade by launching the Kargil conflict in Indian-administered Kashmir. He says they did it behind his back. Mr Sharif is back in power now, with a mandate that is only slightly smaller than the one he was given in the 1990s, but the challenges he faces are much more complicated than just rapprochement with India.

Choppy waters ahead

So how is he likely to fare vis-à-vis the military? Ayesha Siddiqua Agha, an expert on military affairs, says he will at least have a smooth honeymoon period. "Army chief General Kayani is to retire six months later, and the new chief will need a couple of months more to ease into his new job," she says. There is a chance, however, that Mr Sharif will hit choppy waters earlier than that. His greatest challenge lies in reviving an economy that is on the brink of collapse.

Last time he was PM, Nawaz Sharif was toppled in a military coup

But nearly all the options to help a quick revival require fine-tuning of the country's geo-strategic environment, which is shaped and controlled by the military. The foremost pre-requisites for economic growth - peace and security - have become hostage to an increasingly aggressive Pakistani Taliban (TTP). The group is part of a wider militant network that has been destabilising Afghanistan from sanctuaries in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), and which is considered by many to be a "strategic asset" of the Pakistani military.

Mr Sharif has indicated he wants to hold talks with the TTP because, as he puts it, fighting them in the past has not helped curb the menace. A former security chief of Fata, Brig Mehmood Shah, says negotiations have also not worked in the past. He is confident Mr Sharif will discover that soon enough. "The military wants to eliminate militant sanctuaries and has the capacity to do so. All it wants is that its efforts be backed by a wider political consensus and ownership," he says. If this is true, does it signify a paradigm shift?

Ambivalence towards militancy?
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