The parliamentary elections in Pakistan have come to an end overshadowed by violence and restrictions. At least five police officers were killed in an attack. There were also problems with the mobile phone networks.
In Pakistan today almost 130 million people were called upon to elect a new parliament. The vote was overshadowed by violence. In the northwest of the country, gunmen detonated a bomb and then opened fire on a police vehicle. Five officers were killed and two others were injured, police said. The officials were supposed to provide security in Dera Ismail Khan district on the day of the general election.
At first no one claimed responsibility for the crime. However, the area is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.
Mobile networks limited
There were also massive restrictions on mobile networks and mobile internet. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry justified the move with the alleged security for voters, a day after two deadly attacks in the troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan. However, there were no such measures in the previous elections in 2018, despite the tense security situation at the time.
Pakistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission HRCP called for the immediate restoration of services and complained of a “worrying lack of transparency.” The opposition party PTI called on citizens to remove their personal WiFi passwords in order to enable fellow citizens nearby to use their stationary internet and bypass the government block.
Unfair Election conditions feared
Human rights activists have been criticizing unfair election conditions for months because Pakistan’s judiciary has largely dismantled the opposition. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is still popular with the population, is in prison on corruption charges. Khan’s so-called Justice Party Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) is also paralyzed because, according to a Supreme Court ruling, its members are only allowed to run as independent candidates.
Dozens of cases have been pending against Khan since he was removed from office in a vote of no confidence in parliament in spring 2022.
Great disappointment among the population
Many of Pakistan’s 240 million people are disillusioned with the country’s elections and political leadership, as a survey by the Gallup polling institute last year shows. Accordingly, in a survey in autumn 2023, only 25 percent of those surveyed believed that the parliamentary election would be carried out according to the rules. During the most recent elections in 2018, the proportion was almost twice as high. 88 percent also said they believe corruption is widespread in government.
The poor economic situation and extremely high inflation played a major role in the election campaign.
Political dynasties fight for power
Since former Prime Minister Khan was not allowed to run, the election will now be fought primarily between the Sharif and Bhutto political dynasties. The favorites are the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and its leading candidate, three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif only returned to his homeland from exile in Britain in autumn 2023. Sharif’s political clan, which also includes his daughter Maryam, is based in Punjab province, the country’s most populous and economically strongest region.
The outsider but Sharif’s most important opponent is the 35-year-old Oxford graduate and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is running as the top candidate for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The center-left party has been led by the Bhutto dynasty since its founding.
Bhutto Zardari’s mother is the charismatic former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. The PPP and the PML-N were most recently part of a broad government coalition that overthrew Imran Khan.