Islamists Ousted!
By Anila Ali
Irvine, CA
The most interesting aspect of the Pakistan election 2008 has been the rejection of the religious parties and the reemergence of the secular, more liberal democratic parties. NWFP saw the biggest change and brought a sigh of relief to liberal democrats like myself. Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party are now being looked upon to provide peace and stability to the “ most dangerous place” in the world. With this mandate, the people of NWFP have shocked the world.
The West is now pinning its hopes on this sudden rise in democratic liberalism as it has realized that it is not the ally “Musharraf” who has been decimated but it is simply a change marking the emergence of democracy. After all, this is what the West wants – to spread the ideals of democracy to the under developed world. Now the US will be looking for a post Musharraf policy. It is a great irony that the man who stood by the US in her fight against extremism and brought democracy to Pakistan, now stands alone, and watches as the US contemplates its new policies for Pakistan which will be broader in scope.
A very troubling question is: will the army continue its anti-Taleban operations? The Pakistan army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, recently directed all officers from refraining from political activities and ordered them to avoid meeting politicians. This gesture was hailed by the newly elected representatives of Pakistan People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz). Moreover, NATO’s operations are dependent on the anti-Taleban actions and support from Pakistan. Thus they will now be eager to see what the stance of the new government will be on this issue.
One thing is for sure: the people of Pakistan were as eager to get rid of extremists as the West and they’ve proved it to the world.
