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23rd April 2013 - by Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: As the election campaigns have kicked off, Imran Khan’s PTI has made an impressive start and is fast rising as compared to the generally-predicted ruling party of the next five years, the PML-N.
The Pakistan People’s Party, however, is hardly seen on the field but mainly on media’s paid advertisements.The general mood in the Punjab, which would be considered the main battlefield for the PTI and PML-N, is not reflective of what in the recent national and international surveys considered as a one-sided contest in favour of the PML-N. In particular, the urban Punjab is preparing for a tough fight between Imran and Nawaz.
The situation is emerging for a good competition between Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan and there seems to be no easy going for the N-League. Despite indications of rising popularity, there is no clear hint at this stage if Imran would really cause the tsunami on May 11. The next fortnight would decide if Imran Khan’s wave has hit the KPK and Punjab for a surprise win or the N-League would succeed in sealing its victory.
Imran Khan has the advantage against his arch-rival, Nawaz Sharif, that he had never ruled the country or any of its provinces, so his opponents can criticise his political vision or attack his personal life but he can’t be judged for any of his past performances in government.
It is easy for Imran to criticise the PML-N and PPP for their past doings in the governments but his Karak/DI Khan speech made him conspicuous as he focused on such issues as the United States and its so-called war on terror, which are sort of “no go areas” for the PPP and PML-N.
Perhaps learning from the experience of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s (MMA) phenomenal rise of 2002 because of its anti-US policies, Imran Khan, while standing in the worst hit areas in the US war on terror, chose to declare that the PTI after coming to power would rid the nation of the US influence by quitting the US-led war on terror.
Addressing a public meeting as part of his party’s election campaign in Karak, Imran Khan had said the PTI would restore peace in the conflict-ravaged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so that the Pakhtuns could live peacefully after enduring hardships due to insecurity for years. “We will withdraw our soldiers from the tribal areas. The troops will not be used against our own people,” he pledged.
The PPP has been the proud frontline ally of the US in this controversial war but the PML-N, despite its reservations, remains shy to speak so loudly against the US influence or say that it would get Pakistan out of the US war on terror. The N-League, it is generally believed, is playing smart by not naming the US or opposing its war on terror for the reason that many in Pakistan have faith that the road to the corridors of power in Islamabad leads through America.
However, at the time of elections, the N-League would have to pick the courage to make its policy clear on the US war on terror, otherwise Imran Khan would continue to have a strong and convincing rhetoric to win the hearts and minds of the electorate.
The surveys of the recent months clearly place the PML-N far ahead of any other party, including the PTI. The N-League’s own constituency-to-constituency recent estimates showed that the party would bag over 100 NA seats only in the Punjab. Regarding the PTI, it has been generally discussed by the media in the recent weeks that Khan’s party would win between 20 to 30 NA seats and hardly anyone took the PTI chief seriously when he said that he would sweep the polls.
But today, even if it is not a fifty-fifty fight, the PTI has started seriously threatening the PML-N. Shahbaz Sharif’s latest statement that Imran Khan had been launched by Asif Ali Zardari to damage the PML-N reflects on the discomfort of the League.
While the PML-N and PTI have kicked off their election campaigns aggressively, the PPP that ruled the country for five years is nowhere in the race on the ground. Though the party is spending millions every day on media campaigns to propagate what could be dubbed as amusing “achievements”, the Bhuttos’ party completely lacks enthusiasm on the ground.
There is no decision as yet who in the PPP would lead the election campaign. Asif Ali Zardari has at last become “impartial” whereas his son Bilawal Zardari, who is given the name of Bhutto, is not available because of reported security threats. The two former prime ministers, Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf, are messed up with their own challenges ranging from corruption to disqualification. Even otherwise, Gilani and Ashraf are neither crowd pullers nor have the guts to lead the party’s campaign throughout the country.
Earlier, it was believed that the rise of the PTI against the PML-N would actually benefit the PPP and its allies but this is no more valid as the PPP is too down the list to make any impact. As the situation stands today, only a miracle could bring the PPP back in the election game as an effective competitor.
(Courtesy: The News)
ISLAMABAD: As the election campaigns have kicked off, Imran Khan’s PTI has made an impressive start and is fast rising as compared to the generally-predicted ruling party of the next five years, the PML-N.
The Pakistan People’s Party, however, is hardly seen on the field but mainly on media’s paid advertisements.The general mood in the Punjab, which would be considered the main battlefield for the PTI and PML-N, is not reflective of what in the recent national and international surveys considered as a one-sided contest in favour of the PML-N. In particular, the urban Punjab is preparing for a tough fight between Imran and Nawaz.
The situation is emerging for a good competition between Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan and there seems to be no easy going for the N-League. Despite indications of rising popularity, there is no clear hint at this stage if Imran would really cause the tsunami on May 11. The next fortnight would decide if Imran Khan’s wave has hit the KPK and Punjab for a surprise win or the N-League would succeed in sealing its victory.
Imran Khan has the advantage against his arch-rival, Nawaz Sharif, that he had never ruled the country or any of its provinces, so his opponents can criticise his political vision or attack his personal life but he can’t be judged for any of his past performances in government.
It is easy for Imran to criticise the PML-N and PPP for their past doings in the governments but his Karak/DI Khan speech made him conspicuous as he focused on such issues as the United States and its so-called war on terror, which are sort of “no go areas” for the PPP and PML-N.
Perhaps learning from the experience of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s (MMA) phenomenal rise of 2002 because of its anti-US policies, Imran Khan, while standing in the worst hit areas in the US war on terror, chose to declare that the PTI after coming to power would rid the nation of the US influence by quitting the US-led war on terror.
Addressing a public meeting as part of his party’s election campaign in Karak, Imran Khan had said the PTI would restore peace in the conflict-ravaged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, so that the Pakhtuns could live peacefully after enduring hardships due to insecurity for years. “We will withdraw our soldiers from the tribal areas. The troops will not be used against our own people,” he pledged.
The PPP has been the proud frontline ally of the US in this controversial war but the PML-N, despite its reservations, remains shy to speak so loudly against the US influence or say that it would get Pakistan out of the US war on terror. The N-League, it is generally believed, is playing smart by not naming the US or opposing its war on terror for the reason that many in Pakistan have faith that the road to the corridors of power in Islamabad leads through America.
However, at the time of elections, the N-League would have to pick the courage to make its policy clear on the US war on terror, otherwise Imran Khan would continue to have a strong and convincing rhetoric to win the hearts and minds of the electorate.
The surveys of the recent months clearly place the PML-N far ahead of any other party, including the PTI. The N-League’s own constituency-to-constituency recent estimates showed that the party would bag over 100 NA seats only in the Punjab. Regarding the PTI, it has been generally discussed by the media in the recent weeks that Khan’s party would win between 20 to 30 NA seats and hardly anyone took the PTI chief seriously when he said that he would sweep the polls.
But today, even if it is not a fifty-fifty fight, the PTI has started seriously threatening the PML-N. Shahbaz Sharif’s latest statement that Imran Khan had been launched by Asif Ali Zardari to damage the PML-N reflects on the discomfort of the League.
While the PML-N and PTI have kicked off their election campaigns aggressively, the PPP that ruled the country for five years is nowhere in the race on the ground. Though the party is spending millions every day on media campaigns to propagate what could be dubbed as amusing “achievements”, the Bhuttos’ party completely lacks enthusiasm on the ground.
There is no decision as yet who in the PPP would lead the election campaign. Asif Ali Zardari has at last become “impartial” whereas his son Bilawal Zardari, who is given the name of Bhutto, is not available because of reported security threats. The two former prime ministers, Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf, are messed up with their own challenges ranging from corruption to disqualification. Even otherwise, Gilani and Ashraf are neither crowd pullers nor have the guts to lead the party’s campaign throughout the country.
Earlier, it was believed that the rise of the PTI against the PML-N would actually benefit the PPP and its allies but this is no more valid as the PPP is too down the list to make any impact. As the situation stands today, only a miracle could bring the PPP back in the election game as an effective competitor.
(Courtesy: The News)
