pakistan

What lies ahead for Pakistan as it heads to polls

Published

9 months ago

August 12, 2023

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What lies ahead for Pakistan as it heads to polls

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for a general election under a neutral caretaker administration.

The election is meant to be held within 90 days, by November, but uncertainty looms over the date as the nation grapples with constitutional, political and economic crises.

Here are some key questions on the situation and how the next few months are expected to play out.

Shehbaz Sharif will remain prime minister until a caretaker premier is selected. He and the opposition leader in parliament are to pick a consensus leader to head the caretaker administration.

Under the constitution, they have until midnight on Saturday to reach an agreement. If they do not, the decision will go to a parliamentary committee, and then finally to the Election Commission of Pakistan to decide from a list given by both.

This process could take up to a week if an immediate consensus is not reached. The caretaker prime minister will then choose a cabinet to run major ministries.

The PTI chairman, the country’s main opposition leader, will have no role in this process because his party members resigned from parliament last year to protest against his ouster in a no-confidence vote.

The opposition now consists of his party’s dissidents, including the leader of the opposition Raja Riaz. And the former prime minister currently jailed for three years after being convicted on graft charges and is barred from contesting any elections for five years.

The caretaker government must hold elections within 90 days. However, after the outgoing government approved a new census in its final days, new electoral boundaries must be drawn up by the Election Commission.

The exercise of drawing fresh boundaries for hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies in a country of 241 million people may take at least six months or more, according to a former commission official.

The Election Commission has to announce how long it will take to complete the exercise, which may also involve litigation by candidates over the new formations of the constituencies, and, based on that, give an election date.

The military continues to have a huge role behind the scenes in the country. It has ruled Pakistan directly for over three decades of the country’s 76-year existence, and wields extraordinary power over politics.

Political analysts fear that if the caretaker set up stretches beyond its constitutional tenure, a prolonged period without an elected government would allow the powerful establsihment to consolidate its control.

There are three main contenders for leading the next government: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP).

With the PTI chairman in jail and barred from the polls, his party will hope to cash in on supporters’ sympathy and anger and repeat its 2018 election victory. But amidst a continuing standoff with the military, PTI’s prospects hinge on a detente with the generals, which looks unlikely as it stands.

Three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, the brother of the outgoing prime minister and whose PML-N was the senior partner in the outgoing coalition government, is seeking a return from exile. But with a corruption conviction against him still in force, Shehbaz remains a front runner to return to power.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 34, the young chairman of the PPP and son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is another key candidate. He made waves locally and in key foreign capitals in his first government job as foreign minister in the outgoing government, and is widely seen as a future premier.

Economic stabilisation is the top challenge with the $350 billion economy on a narrow recovery path after a bailout from the International Monetary Fund averted a sovereign debt default. Economic reforms have already fuelled historic inflation and interest rates.

Political uncertainty is another major front after the PTI chairman’s jailing and ban. There was no violence following his arrest, unlike in May when his supporters went on the rampage, but his continued detention will raise questions over the credibility of the election.

Constitutional and legal questions are bound to come up if the elections are delayed beyond the 90 days, with an active Supreme Court known to step in to interpret constitutional questions.

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pakistan

NA Secretariat accepts inclusion of independent members in SIC

Published

22 hours ago

May 2, 2024

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NA Secretariat accepts inclusion of independent members in SIC

he National Assembly Secretariat has accepted the inclusion of independent members (PTI-backed MNAs) in the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Dunya News reported.

The National Assembly Secretariat has released a list of 83 members of Sunni Ittehad Council on its official website after the approval of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

After the inclusion of independent members, Sunni Ittehad Council has become second largest party in the lower house of the parliament with 83 members.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had sent a notification regarding the inclusion of independent members in the SIC to the National Assembly Secretariat.

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pakistan

Pakistan urges UN to reconsider Palestine’s full membership bid amid US veto

Published

22 hours ago

May 2, 2024

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Pakistan urges UN to reconsider Palestine's full membership bid amid US veto

Pakistan has called on the United Nations General Assembly to push the Security Council to reconsider and recommend Palestine’s application for full membership of the UN to rectify the historic injustice against the Palestinian people.

“The admission of the state of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations would constitute a concrete political step towards the two-state solution and towards rectifying the historic injustice against the Palestinian people,” Ambassador Munir Akram said in a meeting sparked by a US veto, which blocked an Algerian resolution on 18 April that would have granted Palestine UN’s membership.

The meeting was necessitated by “the veto initiative” — the informal name for a resolution adopted by the Assembly in April 2022, titled “Standing mandate for a General Assembly debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council.”

According to the measure, which was put forth following the repeated wielding of the veto at the Council, blocking action on other situations, the General Assembly has a standing mandate to convene within 10 working days of a veto being cast in the Council.

Palestine is a ‘Permanent Observer State” at the UN, meaning that it can participate in all UN proceedings, except for voting on draft resolutions and decisions in its main organs and bodies.

In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy said, “The veto cast against Palestine’s admission erodes the credibility of the assurances that have been held out of support for the two-state solution.”

“The diplomacy now underway for peace in Palestine, in Israel and the region would gain considerable momentum if the veto was lifted and Palestine’s admission to the United Nations recommended by the Security Council.”

Ambassador Akram appealed to the United Nations and the international community at large to enforce an immediate ceasefire in Gaza; guarantee unrestricted access to humanitarian aid; prevent further escalation of the conflict; provide international protection for the Palestinians; revive the peace process and hold Israel responsible for its war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Now, the extremist Israeli leadership is threatening an assault on Rafah which, as the UN Secretary-General has stated, ‘would be an unbearable escalation’, would have a devastating impact on the Palestinians in Gaza, with serious repressions on the occupied West,” he said.

Ambassador Akram highlighted the plight of the Palestinian people over the past seven decades, including the denial of self-determination, expulsion from their homeland, and enduring a prolonged and brutal foreign occupation.

The Pakistani envoy condemned Israel for its recent war crimes in Gaza, which had resulted in the deaths of over 35,000 Palestinian civilians, indiscriminate bombing, and the blockade of humanitarian aid, which the International Court of Justice has deemed as “plausible genocide.”

Ambassador Akram also hit back at the Israeli representative for making wild accusations against Islamic countries.

“Let me tell the Israeli representative that the outlawed Israeli regime cannot divert attention from its crimes by leveling calumny against the Islamic countries,” he said, adding, “Pakistan, unlike Israel, acts in accordance with international law.”

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pakistan

PM Shehbaz saddened by passing of UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed

Published

22 hours ago

May 2, 2024

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PM Shehbaz saddened by passing of UAE's Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences on Thursday following the passing of Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, the representative of the ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Al Ain.

“Deeply saddened by the demise of His Highness Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohamed Al Nahyan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the leadership and people of the UAE during this time of mourning,” the prime minister shared on his X timeline.

He emphasised Sheikh Tahnoun’s significant role in strengthening the bond between Pakistan and the UAE, stating that his contributions would be remembered for years to come.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also offered prayers for the departed soul, asking Allah Almighty to grant Sheikh Tahnoun eternal peace.

Born in 1942, Tahnoun was among the select individuals who had accompanied Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s founding father, since an early age.

In response to his passing, the UAE government declared a seven-day mourning period

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