Pakistan Views

Pakistani security forces were on their highest state of alert on Sunday after a suicide car bomber killed 37 people and wounded nearly 100 at a rally for next week’s critical parliamentary elections. The government stepped up security for Monday’s polls after the final day of campaigning was marred by the deadliest attack since the martyrdom of former premier Benazir Bhutto late last year. “Security forces are on highest alert for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the polls,” Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema told AFP.
“Polling stations will be fully secured, the security of the voters will be ensured at all costs.
“We know there are elements who are trying to sabotage the entire process but we will defeat their designs — we are determined to do so.”
Saturday’s blast, the latest in a series of attacks that have rocked country’s shaky electoral process, occurred at a rally for Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party in Parachinar.
Hours later, a second suicide car bomber attacked an army media centre in the northwestern region of Swat, killing two civilians and wounding eight other people.
Saturday’s attacks came as politicians launched a final push for votes before the midnight (1900 GMT) deadline after which all rallies are banned until the polls close.
PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, met former premier Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Saturday for new talks on possible power-sharing after the vote if the opposition wins a majority, party officials said.
The White House, which counts President Musharraf as a bulwark against al Qaeda and Taliban militants, moved to dispel fears that violence could derail the vote.
“We want to see an election in which all the parties can compete fairly. Violence is not the answer, and we know this latest attack will not stop the people of Pakistan from voting,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
Some 81,000 army and paramilitary soldiers have fanned out across the country to try to maintain peace and security during the election.

The handing over of the election materials to the presiding officers has kicked off. Polling materials for the 20 national assembly and 42 provincial assembly seats are being handed over to the presiding officers at the camps set up for this purpose in all the five Districts of Karachi—Urdu Science University for District East, TMO Office SITE Town for District West, Government Comprehensive Boys School, North Nazimabad for District Central, City Court for District South and the camp set up at Malir Court for District Malir. The distribution of ballot boxes will take place this evening. Large number of government employees, who were assigned election duties, seen present on this occasion at the election camp offices.

Polling material being transferred on Sunday at the polling station established at city courts Karachi. The polling material being handed over to the presiding officers of Karachi’s national assembly constituencies NA-248, 249, 250 and 251 and related provincial constituencies.

The material included ballot papers and other polling items, which are being shifted to the polling station under strict police security.
The ballot boxes will be distributed in the evening.

Over 81 million voters will exercise their rights of franchise by casting votes for electing from among the candidates contesting on the 839 seats of the national and provincial assemblies all across the country. All arrangements have been made for making the election process transparent and peaceful. Polling will kick off at 8.00 A.M. in the morning, which will continue without any break until 5.00 P.M. in the evening. Following the completion of polling, counting will start. Transparent ballot boxes—one for the national assembly and another for the provincial assembly, will be kept for casting of the votes. Over 160 million ballot- papers—the white one for the national assembly and the green one for the provincial assembly, have been printed for this purpose. Election Commission has set up over 64,000 polling stations all across the country—382 polling stations in Islamabad, over 37,600 in Punjab, over 13,400 in Sindh, over 8,100 in NWFP, over 3,400 in Balochistan, while 1,122 polling stations set up in FATA, where more than 5,61,000 presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers will be posted.
All major parties of the country were participating in the elections, which included Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, Awami national Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Muslim League-N besides a large number of independent candidates are in the field.
Strong contingents of Police and Rangers have been posted at the polling stations for meeting any eventualities and maintaining law and order besides army will remain stand-by for their help. Polling will be held on the 269 seats of the 272 general seats. Elections have been postponed in NA-42 Tribal area VII in view of the bad law and order, while in NA-119 Lahore-II due to the death of a candidate Tariq Banday and in NA-207 Larkana cum Shikarpur due to PPP chairpersons Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s murder in suicide attack. Elections would be held later on in these constituencies.
Election Commission said that 2,234 candidates for the 269 general seats of the national assembly were in the field, while 5,017 candidates for 570 seats of the provincial assemblies were contesting and elections in the 7 constituencies out of the 577 would be held later on.

Punjab Rangers Deputy Director General (DDG), Brigadier Qaisar Khan Tareen said that strong contingents of Rangers have been posted in the 26 districts of Punjab and orders given for on the spot shooting the militants found involved in sabotaging the election process.

Addressing a press conference here, Brigadier Qaiser Khan Tareen said that Rangers have been posted in the 26 districts of Punjab. He said that the elements breaching law and order would be dealt with severely and orders have been given for on the spot shooting of those found involved in sabotaging elections and polling process.

Punjab Rangers DDG said that those showing off weapons during the polling would be arrested and their weapons along with the licenses would be forfeited. He said that the Rangers would also help the police besides taking actions against the anti-social elements themselves. Rangers’ spokesman told that the Punjab Rangers DG, Major General Haroon Aslam was reviewing law and order situation across the province.

On the other hand, Lahore CCPO, Malik Muhammad Iqbal and Sahiwal DPO, Syed Javed Shah have banned carrying weapon, dagger, knife, baton and other assault materials under Police Order 2002 for ensuring law and order on February 17 and 18 in Lahore and Sahiwal.

Election Commission of Pakistan has made transparent arrangements for general elections, an election commission official here said.
Talking to Geo News Secretary Election Commission Kunwar Dilshad Saturday said that the election material of international standards has been sent to the concerned officials and ballot papers will be handed over to the Returning Officers tomorrow.
Replying a question about election results, Dilshad said the presiding officers have been directed to hold counting in presence of polling agents of candidates and provide the result to them. The presiding officers would forward the results to the Returning Officers who will immediately announce the result, he further said.
They have been also directed to write the results in words as well as in figures, he said.
The copy of the result will also be provided to media and would be put on at the polling station for general public. The result would later sent to the provincial and central election commissions by fax.
Kunwar Dilshad said no code of conduct has been prepared for media regarding the election. “Media can announce results issued by the presiding officer,” he said.
He said the number of sensitive polling stations in the country is between eight to nine thousands. The polling has been withheld in only one national assembly constituency NA-42 due to law and order situation, he said. Elections have been postponed in other constituencies due to demise of the candidates.

Director General ISPR Major General Athar Abass on Saturday said that deployment of civil armed forces including troops of Pakistan Army in most sensitive and sensitive areas has been completed.
In over 90,000 most sensitive areas marked earlier by the civil administration the troops of Pakistan Army have been deployed while in the sensitive areas, civil armed forces including Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and Rangers have taken over, he told APP.
In all 81,000 personnel deployed in the most sensitive and sensitive parts, 95 battalions of Pakistan Army having around 34,000 personnel while 41,000 personnel from Rangers, Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary are included.
He made it clear that Pakistan Army has not been deployed on the polling stations but they would be on call in case any law and order situation arises and becomes beyond control of civil administration and police of the respective area.
He said that the troops will remain in the area till the requirement of the civil administration as they are there to assist them for maintenance of law and order.
To a question Gen Athar said that the deployments are for the polling day and if the civil administrations require them beyond that they will remain there.

Election candidates launched a final push for votes on Saturday, after a US lawmaker warned that Washington could cut military aid if next week’s polls are not free and fair.
Campaigning ends at midnight (1900 GMT) on Saturday and all meetings and processions are banned from then until after Monday’s landmark vote, seen as decisive for the political future of President Pervez Musharraf.
The former ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) as well as the opposition party Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and supporters of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) are all set to rally.
President Musharraf faces possible impeachment if the election installs a hostile parliament.
PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, will be in Lahore and is likely to attend a seminar by a regional media association before meeting party delegations, senior party official Naveed Qamar AFP.
Nawaz Sharif has not planned any public meetings but may address a rally in Lahore, his spokesman Zaem Qadir told AFP.
An opposition alliance All Party Democratic Moment (APDM) that is boycotting the vote, including the party of former cricketer Imran Khan and Islamic organisations, is set to hold a meeting at the Pakistan monument ground in the same city.
Campaigning has however been mostly lacklustre in the leadup to the election, due partly to a wave of suicide attacks, most notably the one that martyed Benazir at a political rally on December 27.
Opposition allegations of widespread rigging in favour of Musharraf’s allies (PML-Q) have also left the country’s 81 million eligible voters feeling disenfranchised.
A senior US senator in a Congressional team travelling to monitor the polls said on late Friday that the United States should cut off military aid to Pakistan if the vote is not fair.
Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, who is head of the influential Senate foreign relations committee, also forecast riots throughout Pakistan if the elections were found to be “patently rigged.”
Asked what would be the consequences of unfair elections, he said: “I would move to cut off aid to Pakistan, military aid.” He specifically cited the sale of F-16 fighter jets and P3 long-range maritime surveillance aircraft.
President Musharraf, who has received 10 billion dollars in US aid since 2001, pledged on Thursday that the elections would be fair but warned opposition groups not to protest against the result if they did not accept it.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday said there is no restriction on private TV channels to broadcast the incomplete results of the election.

Twelve senior journalists from Saarc countries met Secretary election commission Kunwar Muhammad Dilshad.

During the briefing Kunwar Dilshad said about the security measures that have been taken to make the elections fair.

While speaking to the journalists and media he said that election commission will not release progressive results. He further said that all the necessary arrangements have been made for fair and free election.

He said that returning officer will compose the non-government results both in words and numeric. He added that all the non-government results will be faxed to the central control room Islamabad.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement controlling Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi, is up for grabs again — for whoever wins Monday’s general election.
The MQM, which mainly represents Urdu-speaking Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from northern India after partition in 1947, or mohajirs, has shared power with changing governments for much of the past two decades.
It has no plans to stop now, and this time is hoping to tie up with the front-running party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, which is tipped to come out front in the Feb. 18 vote and is now led by her widow Asif Ali Zardari.
“Any political party which claims to be a progressive, moderate and secular political party, I think I’ll have no problem going along with that,” Muhammad Farooq Sattar, who helps lead MQM as deputy convenor, told Reuters in an interview.
“100 percent, we’ll offer the coalition to Zardari. And I think Zardari has also made this offer to (MQM leader) Mr Altaf Hussain,” added Sattar, whose party formed a coalition with the previous government of the Pakistan Muslim League.
With a total of 19 seats at the last election in 2002, it’s support could help tip the balance in an expected hung parliament for whichever party seeks to form a government. The MQM has been allied to four of Pakistan’s past five governments.
SITTING ON FENCE
And if the party of another opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, which completes the three main parties at the upcoming election and with which MQM has shared power during two previous governments, wins?
“A bitter pill can be swallowed. I don’t rule it out,” Sattar said. “There is no final word in politics.” The party fell out with Sharif during his second government from 1997-1999 over policy differences and pulled out of that coalition.
Musharraf himself, now deeply unpopular after he purged the Supreme Court to safeguard his re-election and suspended the constitution, can only bank on MQM for the short-haul.
While MQM, which aspires to be a national rather than a regional party, does not endorse Sharif’s calls for Musharraf to quit, Sattar does think he should make a gradual exit.
“If they can work (with him) for two years and then President Musharraf is given an honourable exit, I think that could be the best bet for … the future of Pakistan,” Sattar said.
MQM has a dark legacy of violence by its supporters, particularly in the 1990s. Many Karachi residents and opponents say the party is still involved in bloodletting and blame it for starting violence last May in which 40 people were killed.
Overall leader Hussain has lived in self-exile in London since being accused of kidnap and torture in 1991. He now addresses rallies by party faithful via telephone relayed over loudspeakers in front of a giant portrait.
Sattar says Hussain left Pakistan because of assassination attempts, and says he has spent years rooting out 2,500 violent elements from his party.
“We have been so conscious about this legacy of the past … which was imposed on us,” Sattar said. “We so desperately want to disconnect from, denounce whatever wrong took place in that period and disassociate ourselves from that, and to appear whiter than white.”
“MQM managed to … identify such elements in its rank and file and has ousted them.”