Politics

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is set to form its second consecutive government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on its own by securing a simple majority in the provincial assembly.

The Imran Khan-led party had secured 34 provincial assembly seats in the 2013 elections before installing government with the support of Jamaat-i-Islami, Qaumi Watan Party, and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan, which was later merged with it.

However, it won elections in 66 of the total 97 constituencies on July 25, 2018, and thus, being able to form the next government without the support of any other party.

The religio-political alliance, MMA, is the runner-up in the elections by winning 10 provincial assembly seats.

Wins 66 of total 97 provincial assembly seats

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The PTI candidates have also won 35 of the total 51 National Assembly seats, including 39 constituencies of KP and 12 of the tribal areas merged with the province lately.

It has won election on 29 of the NA constituencies of KP and six of the merged tribal regions.

The party is now in a position to form government in the province without support of any other party.

PTI chief Imran Khan has defeated Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl central leader Akram Durrani in NA-35 Bannu by securing113,822 votes. Mr Durrani got 106,820 votes.

Mr Durrani, a former chief minister, however, managed to win his provincial assembly seat, PK-90 Bannu-IV.

Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have lost election for NA seats from Swat and Malakand, respectively.

Of the 99 provincial assembly constituencies, elections were postponed on two due to the killing of candidates Haroon Ahmad Bilour and Ikramullah Gandapur in suicide bombings.

The PTI has swept elections in Peshawar, Swat and Nowshera districts by winning all national and provincial assembly seats.

It won all five NA and 13 PA seats in Peshawar, three NA and eight PA seats in Swat, and two NA and five PA seats in Nowshera.

However, ANP candidate Khushdil Khan, who lost to Shah Farman of the PTI in PK- 50 Peshawar by a margin of 47 votes, has filed an application with the relevant returning officer for vote recount.

The ANP secured six provincial assembly seats, while the PPP and PML-N begged four each. Four independent candidates were also elected.

While Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the MMA lost election for two NA seats, his son, Maulana Asad Mahmud, has claimed victory in NA- 37 Tank by defeating Habibullah Kundi of the PTI.

Of the 39 NA seats of KP, three were won by the MMA, two by the PML-N, one each by the ANP and the PPP, and four by independents.

Former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti of the ANP won his both national and provincial assembly seats in Mardan.

He defeated Atif Khan, a key PTI leader and former provincial minister, in NA- 21 with a small margin of 34 votes. Atif has won his PA seat.

Similarly, the PTI also proved his mettle in the recently merged tribal areas as it secured six of the 12 NA seats there.

On the remaining six NA seats, three were won by the MMA, two by independents and one by the PPP.

Two leaders of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, were elected in their independent capacity on NA-50 South Waziristan and NA-48 North Waziristan, respectively.

Islamabad: At the occasion of National Women’s Day on 12th of February Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has called for increased political participation of women in Pakistan. Since February 12, 1983, seven governments have been at the helm of affairs but no substantial change could be brought to the status of women. This year, National Women’s Day coincides with the by-election in NA 154 Lodhran-I, where lamentably none of ten candidates is the woman. Further, according to Election Commission of Pakistan, the total number of registered voters in Pakistan has reached to 97.02 million including 54.4 male and 42.2 female voters. CPDI maintains that situation is perturbing as the gap between the number of male and female voters has crossed 12 million. Stats of CPDI’s election observation reports reveal that despite the long struggle of women for empowerment, their participation in political process remains below average till date. The most recent example is the by-election in PP20 Chakwal-I where CPDI observed low women voter turnout; on average, 14 women voters cast their vote in an hour, on a sampled female polling booth as compared to 20 men on the male booth. ECP’s effort to mobilize women voters and the provisions of section 12 (C) of Elections Act 2017 has not yet paid off. Stakeholders need to take corrective measures to mainstream women in political life. Raja Shoaib Akbar, Senior program manager at CPDI said that even though women in Pakistan have entered politics, thanks to the quota of reserved seats but still female population of major segments of our society remain alienated from active political participation, a limitation of true representation needs to be taken seriously. CPDI believes that Socio-cultural and economic barriers restrict women’s participation in the political system. It appears that women are usually faced with similar challenges and barriers i.e. sex segregation, illiteracy, and lack of awareness of their political rights. Moreover, the dominance of patriarchal mindset is deep rooted in our society so it is prevalent in political parties as well. It is about time that political parties proactively contribute to the political inclusion of women. All political parties should adhere to the provisions of new Election Act 2017 by increasing female party membership as suggested in section 203, ensure women nomination on 5% general seats as stated in section 206 and take steps to increase their registration as voters and candidates so that women can enter the mainstream political process. The Election Commission of Pakistan should also constructively engage with the parties to ensure implementation of women related provisions of the Elections Act.
Newspaper: The News
Newspaper Link: http://royalnews.tv/?p=30687

Islamabad: At the occasion of National Women’s Day on 12th of February Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has called for increased political participation of women in Pakistan. Since February 12, 1983, seven governments have been at the helm of affairs but no substantial change could be brought to the status of women. This year, National Women’s Day coincides with the by-election in NA 154 Lodhran-I, where lamentably none of ten candidates is the woman. Further, according to Election Commission of Pakistan, the total number of registered voters in Pakistan has reached to 97.02 million including 54.4 male and 42.2 female voters. CPDI maintains that situation is perturbing as the gap between the number of male and female voters has crossed 12 million. Stats of CPDI’s election observation reports reveal that despite the long struggle of women for empowerment, their participation in political process remains below average till date. The most recent example is the by-election in PP20 Chakwal-I where CPDI observed low women voter turnout; on average, 14 women voters cast their vote in an hour, on a sampled female polling booth as compared to 20 men on the male booth. ECP’s effort to mobilize women voters and the provisions of section 12 (C) of Elections Act 2017 has not yet paid off. Stakeholders need to take corrective measures to mainstream women in political life. Raja Shoaib Akbar, Senior program manager at CPDI said that even though women in Pakistan have entered politics, thanks to the quota of reserved seats but still female population of major segments of our society remain alienated from active political participation, a limitation of true representation needs to be taken seriously. CPDI believes that Socio-cultural and economic barriers restrict women’s participation in the political system. It appears that women are usually faced with similar challenges and barriers i.e. sex segregation, illiteracy, and lack of awareness of their political rights. Moreover, the dominance of patriarchal mindset is deep rooted in our society so it is prevalent in political parties as well. It is about time that political parties proactively contribute to the political inclusion of women. All political parties should adhere to the provisions of new Election Act 2017 by increasing female party membership as suggested in section 203, ensure women nomination on 5% general seats as stated in section 206 and take steps to increase their registration as voters and candidates so that women can enter the mainstream political process. The Election Commission of Pakistan should also constructively engage with the parties to ensure implementation of women related provisions of the Elections Act.

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to use watermarked ballot papers in the upcoming General Elections 2018 and asked the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) Karachi to make arrangements for the purchase of watermarked papers. The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza and was attended by the managing directors of Printing Corporation Press Pakistan, PSPC Karachi, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) and officials from finance division, cabinet division and postal services division. The meeting also decided that in order to ensure transparency in general elections, ECP will use indelible ink marker rather using indelible ink while PCSIR Islamabad would certify that the markers have all the features and ingredients that indelible ink could have and that they have similar using time as that of indelible ink. The meeting was informed that the decision of purchasing indelible markers was made to remove complications in its supply and its use on voters. Earlier, the meeting received a briefing on the printing of ballot papers and use of indelible marker in place of indelible ink.
Newspaper: Pakistan-Today
Newspaper Link: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/12

ISLAMABAD: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to use watermarked ballot papers in the upcoming General Elections 2018 and asked the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) Karachi to make arrangements for the purchase of watermarked papers. The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza and was attended by the managing directors of Printing Corporation Press Pakistan, PSPC Karachi, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) and officials from finance division, cabinet division and postal services division. The meeting also decided that in order to ensure transparency in general elections, ECP will use indelible ink marker rather using indelible ink while PCSIR Islamabad would certify that the markers have all the features and ingredients that indelible ink could have and that they have similar using time as that of indelible ink. The meeting was informed that the decision of purchasing indelible markers was made to remove complications in its supply and its use on voters. Earlier, the meeting received a briefing on the printing of ballot papers and use of indelible marker in place of indelible ink.

ISLAMABAD: Raja Zafarul Haq, leader of the House in the Senate, has said that it has been decided that Shehbaz Sharif would be the new president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The decision would be announced soon, Haq told BBC Urdu. According to consultation so far done in the party, most members are of the opinion that the party’s presidentship should be handed over to Shehbaz Sharif, Haq said. Advertisement Ad The decision would be taken due to disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court. The PML-N leader said during the regime of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Sharif had been convicted in the plane hijacking case and declared disqualified from politics and Shehbaz Sharif was made the PML-N president. PML-N drops plans to replace PM Abbasi with Shehbaz: sources To a question, Haq said the struggle of PML-N was against the disrespect of people’s vote. He said general elections would be held in June next year and a number of political parties had started their political campaign, therefore the PML-N had also decided to make preparations for the elections. Due to other priorities and administrative and governmental matters, the party could not focus on its organizational matters, but now it had been decided to work more on party matters, he added.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has asked all political parties to submit consolidated statement of party bank accounts on Form-I duly audited by Chartered Accountant by 29th of the next month, reported Radio Pakistan. A spokesperson of the Election Commission said the political parties, failed to submit account statements, will not be eligible to obtain election symbols for contesting the next elections.

The outgoing year of 2016 can be described as the year of confrontation and political status quo. The confrontation focused on the Panama Leaks (April onwards) between the PML-N government at the federal level and in Punjab on the one hand and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the other. Despite the persistent efforts of the PTI to build pressure on the ruling PML-N through public rallies, tough talking and the threat to lock down Islamabad, the PML-N federal government managed to survive. The circumstantial factors helped Nawaz Sharif to hold on to power. The Supreme Court postponed the Panama case because the Chief Justice was retiring, although 80 per cent of the case process had been completed. The military did not appear to be interested in direct assumption of political power. The major opposition parties could not join together to challenge the PML-N federal government; most of them were reluctant to acknowledge the fact that Imran Khan had emerged as the principal opposition leader. Imran Khan’s own political disposition did not make it easy for the opposition leaders to join him. His “solo” effort did unnerve the federal government but Imran Khan could not put his political act together to force Nawaz Sharif to resign. The ruling PML-N has established a firm monopoly over the state machinery, bureaucracy, police and state resources and patronage in Punjab and at the federal level. The allocation of state resources and patronage is done in a highly partisan manner primarily on the basis of loyalty. The loyalty criterion also applies to senior bureaucratic appointments. This type of governance has created a large number of beneficiaries of the PML-N rule which include ambitious bureaucrats and others seeking prize jobs, government contractors, supplies of goods and services to government departments, seekers of projects from development funds and real estate business. The big business in Punjab also prefers to work closely with the government. The future of these categories of people and groups is very closely linked with the current power arrangements headed by the PML-N. The recent local government election of chairpersons at the district or city levels in Punjab has brought forward a new class of PML-N beneficiaries. The most serious challenge for the ruling PML-N in 2017 is how to protect its total monopoly of state power, resources and patronage in Punjab. This monopoly will become more important as the country moves closer to the new general elections. The PML-N rule can run into serious trouble if any competing power centre emerges in Punjab from the opposition, the bureaucracy or the military. When the PTI attempted to challenge the PML-N monopoly by threatening to lock down Islamabad on November 2, the federal government and the Punjab government used the state apparatus to neutralise the PTI challenge. The province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) was blocked at the Punjab provincial border so as not to allow the K-P Chief Minister and his supporters to enter Punjab and Islamabad. Civil-military relations ran into problems from time to time. In the last week of January, Army Chief Raheel Sharif announced that he would not seek extension of service on the completion of his term. Nawaz Sharif gave space to the military in managing security affairs but allowed his close associates to publicly criticise the military. The Corps Commanders’ meeting in August expressed concern on non-implementation of the National Action Plan and the criticism of the military and the intelligence agencies by some leaders belonging to the ruling coalition. Another controversy developed about a news leakage of a national security meeting in the Prime Minister House. The Corps Commanders in their meeting in October described the news item as “false and fabricated.” The Army wanted some punitive action against those who issued the news. However, as the close associates of Nawaz Sharif were involved in it, the Prime Minister appointed a commission to investigate the matter to delay action. Nawaz Sharif wants to avail of the change of command in the Army and the ISI to wrest the initiative from the Army on security issues and wants the Army to forget about the news item issue. The efforts to tame the military can backfire. Terrorist incidents declined with the success of Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan. The Army and paramilitary forces are busy with the return and rehabilitation of the people who got displaced due to the military operation in the tribal areas. The Army will have to stay active in the tribal areas to ensure that the Taliban do not return. A good number of Taliban and other extremists have escaped to Afghanistan or to urban areas of Pakistan. Though the Army and the Rangers have improved the security situation in Karachi, the PPP government in Sindh is not ready to allow the Rangers to take any action in interior Sindh. Similarly, the Punjab government has not so far allowed the Army and the Rangers to take independent action against the hard-line activists and sectarian groups in Punjab. Five major terrorist attacks took place in the year: attack on a university in Charsadda, Lahore Iqbal Town park attack, an attack in Quetta on lawyers, another attack on a police training school outside Quetta and the attack on Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan. Among the political parties, the MQM faced the most serious internal crisis. Musstafa Kamal, former MQM Mayor of Karachi, returned and launched himself in politics with a press conference on March 3. Later, he established the Pak Sarzameen Party. The MQM got further divided into MQM-Pakistan and the MQM-London. It is difficult to suggest if the split between the MQM-London and Pakistan is genuine. Asif Ali Zardari returned to Pakistan on December 23 to revive the PPP. This depends on whether Zardari can stay in Pakistan for an extended period to rebuild the party and distances the party from the PML-N? If the PPP continued with the policy of reconciliation with the PML-N, its political future in Punjab will be doomed. The PPP needs to assert its autonomous character, strengthen its links with the common people and establish working relations with the PTI and other opposition parties. The political edifice headed by Nawaz Sharif has completed another year. Its political survival in 2017 depends on its capacity to pursue a stable relationship with the opposition, the military and the judiciary. Can the PML-N push the Panama and the news item issues to oblivion and sustain its monopoly in Punjab? Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2016.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Census Commissioner Asif Bajwa has hinted at postponement of the population census due to security concerns as the required numbers of troops are not available at the moment.

With the party deeply divided into three groups over the future course of action regarding the upcoming intra-party elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Election Commissioner Tasnim Noorani is set to start a consultative process on Thursday (today) with various factions of the party to evolve a consensus on the procedure for the party elections to be completed by April this year.

A latest survey report by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has re-confirmed the perception that generally there was lack of democracy within political parties of the country. As per the report, most of the parties fared poorly on almost every criteria to judge internal democracy in political parties of Pakistan.

RAWALPINDI: As the deadline ends on Feb 27, PTI will extend its membership drive for two or three more weeks as the campaign has so far failed to attract people to the party fold.

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq along with the four provincial chiefs of the party on Tuesday announced a countrywide campaign against economic, political, moral and electoral corruption, from March 1.

ISLAMABAD: Apparently giving in to political pressure, the government on Tuesday decided to incorporate the issue of much-delayed population census in the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI).

PESHAWAR: Central General Secretary of ANP, Mian Iftikhar Hussain Tuesday highlighted the need of new census saying it would help addressing the long standing sense of deprivation of small federating units.