AS the general elections have held, representing inability of parties in winning majority. The election results, as ever predicted, emanated shock, demonstrating unbleached resilience of a party’s vote bank. However, the role of electronic media, on Election Day, has not been up to the mark with respect to fair transmission of information to the public. What their election transmissions showcased was all thrills and elaborated tactics to pump up public sentiments.
Primed upon initial media reports, suggesting PTI-propped candidates on winning trajectory, PTI started claiming majority across the country. Its media cell was breathed new life, in effect, social media platforms enveloped with claims of majority secured by the PTI-propped candidates, irrespective of the nature of result. However, the case of PDM is not worthy either. Giving each other severe dressing down, while on the stump, diverse election results served as retinol for the PDM and the scattered PDM has solidified in its wake. It is of paramount significance what the coalition government has for public, while public experience was not up to the scratch with the previous PDM-governed coalition government.
Among the liabilities lying upon the upcoming government entail countering: recrudescing terror, slumping economy, polarized political landscape and challenging situation appertain to foreign policy following Pak-Iran flare-up of tension. First of all, Pakistan’s economy oozes atrophy, with foreign reserves pulverizing to 9.93 billion USD and external debt matrix nudging 128.1 USD, demanding immediate and comprehensive tinkering with the present way of dealing economy. The upcoming government grapples with the record high debt –amounting to Rs 81.2 trillion– incurred by the caretaker government. Secondly, the serpent of terrorism is also rearing its ugly head, as terror attacks crop up each day ever since drastic appeasement policy. Peaceful though the Election Day passed, it was suspension of cellular services that made peaceful conduct of election possible. Terror activities earlier and recent military operations were spearheaded from erstwhile tribal areas; however, TTP and Baloch insurgents have coalesced following appeasement policy, carrying out terror activities and, the latest in the string emerge those of Mach and Kolpur, displaying magnitude of temerity exhibiting the militants.
Thirdly, Pakistan’s political landscape is diverse, with each party having its own agenda. The PPP, within the PDM, distances itself from federal government involvement, even if it supports the PML-N. This mirrors their past strategy, where they disowned decisions made during previous PDM rule. Similarly, PTI claims the capability to govern across all houses despite facing challenges and lacking essential credentials. These tactics, though, have dangerous consequences, from exploiting social media to damaging the social fabric. Despite this, it’s clear that whoever forms the government will face significant disadvantages in addressing Pakistan’s pressing issues.
With Pakistan having an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with myriads of issues, any collision at global level may well cost Pakistan very much. So at this very moment, it is held that party manifesto offers guide to the voters to ascertain what the party concerned envisages for their wellbeing. Inauspiciously, none of the parties afforded anything tangible to address even the present issues facing Pakistan. Each of the parties appears capitalizing personalities of their party leaders, while public hardships suspend between neglect and forlorn hopes of resolution. What stands significant hereby is congealing political consensus, heaping multiplicity of benedictions: smooth devolution of power, redressal of public agonies and curtailing role of non-state actors.
—The writer is pursuing his bachelor’s in law, based in Gujranwala.
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