Author: Shobhan Saxena
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 20, 2008
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Islamic_parties_fell_prey_to_real_issues/rssarticleshow/2798540.cms
The Red Caps are back in the Frontier. In
a remarkable display of resilience and commitment to its secular values, the
Awami National Party (ANP), which bore the brunt of suicide bombers in the
run up to the elections in the country's most volatile province bordering
Afghanistan, swept to power in NWFP on Tuesday as it completely overwhelmed
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) in its stronghold.
So powerful was the Pashtun nationalist party's
resurgence that the MMA affiliate, Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islami,
lost his own seat in his hometown of Dera Ismail Khan, despite the fact that
women were stoped from voting in many parts of the province.
To add insult to injury, the Islamic party
also lost votes and seats in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA),
dubbed by some as the nursery of Islamic fundamentalism.
But, the election result in NWFP has not only
changed this image, it has also changed the political scenario in this region
that will have impact on the entire country. Speaking to the media from Dera
Ghazi Khan, Maulana Rehman sounded dejected and blamed the media for negative
campaign against his party.
"If the verdict is for small responsibility
for us, we accept," said the MMA leader, who himself has been on the
hitlist of radical elements in the province.
It seems the Maulana doesn't have much of
a choice as the Pakistani people have completely rejected religious parties
in this election.
"They never had any base in this country.
In 2002, they managed to come to power in NWFP because of the support from
the military regime. Though they had won 60 seats that time, their percentage
of vote was as low as 6%," says Prof Mehdi Hasan, one of the top analysts
in the country.
"Now the MMA has paid the price for aligning
with Musharraf," Hasan says. In NWFP, Maulana fazlur Rehman accepted
that the Pakistani people have given a verdict against Musharraf. "We
will look into our policies," he added.
Experts like Hasan believe that the religion-based
parties have been rejected in this election. "This time people wanted
change on the basis of real issues. In such a scenario, when violence is tormenting
people and inflation is making their life tough, the slogans of religious
parties will not make sense to people," says Masood Agha, a Karachi-based
political commentator.
The election results from NWFP and other three
provinces prove this. Not only has the MMA lost power in the Frontier, its
performance in the National Assembly is nothing much to talk about. In the
terror-filled atmosphere of NWFP, Pakistan's biggest alliance of religious
parties has lost the battle to a secular and progressive party. It's a good
sign of change in the traumatized nation.
