NAWAZ.SHARIF
SET 3RD TERM
AS
PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER
12-05-2013
Nawaz
Sharif was poised for a record third term as Pakistan’s Prime Minister with his
PML-N party on Sunday,12th May,2013, taking an unassailable lead
over its rivals in landmark general elections, in a triumphant comeback after
being toppled in a coup and sent into exile.Trends from 264 of the 272
parliamentary seats that went to the polls showed that the PML-N was set to bag
in excess of 125 seats, while Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and the
Pakistan Peoples Party were lagging far behind with 34 and 32 seats, respectively.Mr.
Sharif, 63, is set to return to power at a time when Pakistan is facing several
major challenges, including growing extremism, a strong Taliban presence in the
country’s northwest, rampant corruption, uneasy relations with the U.S. ahead
of the withdrawal of foreign forces from war-torn Afghanistan and an economy
that has virtually been in free fall for the past few years.
He has
already made it clear that he intends to take up India-Pakistan relations from
where he had left them when he was ousted from power in 1999.The PML-N was
returned to power at the national level after millions of Pakistanis braved
Taliban threats and violence that claimed some 50 lives to vote in the landmark
general elections that marked the first transition from one civilian government
to another in the country’s 66-year history that has witnessed numerous
military coups.Mr. Sharif proclaimed victory for the PML-N while addressing a
group of jubilant supporters at his home in Lahore last night and asked people
to pray that the final results would deliver an “absolute majority” for his
party so that he would not have to lead a weak coalition.“The results are still
coming in but we almost have confirmation about one thing — that the PML-N has
emerged the largest party in this election. I ask you to pray that the results
that come in the morning will show that the PML-N can form government without
outside support, so that the PML-N doesn’t have to seek support from anyone,”
he said.
The
PML-N’s strong performance will make it possible for Mr. Sharif to form
government at the centre with the backing of independent candidates and smaller
rightist parties like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam which was leading in 11 seats.Analysts
said it was possible that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, leading in 12 seats,
could back the PML-N.To win a simple majority, a party or coalition would have
to bag 137 of the 272 National Assembly seats for which polls were held.Another
70 seats in the 342-member National Assembly are reserved for women and
non-Muslims and will be allocated to parties according to their performance in
polls.The PML-N was also set to form government in the most populous province
of Punjab, where it was leading in 188 seats out of 297 seats in the provincial
Assembly.In Sindh province, the Pakistan Peoples Party and its ally MQM were
leading in 66 seats and 15 seats, respectively, and were comfortably placed to
form government in the 130-member Assembly.
The
Awami National Party suffered a washout in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, leading
only in three seats while the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf was set to bag 31 seats.There
were no trends for Balochistan though the PML-N, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party
and Balochistan National Party-Mengal were expected to perform well in the
southwestern province.
Most
top leaders of the PPP, including several former Mnisters, and senior leaders
of parties that were allied to it — like the ANP and PML-Q — were defeated in
Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.Mr. Sharif vowed to deliver on all the promises
he had made during the campaign, including pledges to end crippling power cuts,
set right the tanking economy and to counter corruption.The two-time former
premier also struck a conciliatory note, appealing to all parties to sit
together with the PML-N to find ways to tackle Pakistan’s pressing problems.In
remarks apparently aimed at Mr. Khan, who had launched personal attacks on
PML-N leaders during the campaign, Mr. Sharif said: “I never abused anyone but
I forgive those who abused us”.Sources told PTI that the PML-N would also not
be averse to working with the PPP after forming government as the party’s
leaders were not keen on any sort of alliance with Mr. Khan’s Pakistan
Tehrik-e-Insaf.
Mr.
Sharif, served as premier during 1990-1993 and 1997-1999 but was ousted from
office before he could complete his term - once on corruption charges and later
because of a military coup led by Pervez Musharraf.After being deposed in 1999,
he was jailed and sent into exile to Saudi Arabia.He returned to Pakistan
shortly before the 2008 polls and rebuilt his party, especially in Punjab, a
politically crucial province as it has more than half of the seats in the lower
house of parliament.
Prof. John Kurakar
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