PTI requests intervention of the judiciary for free and fair elections; Pakistan rejects India's extradition request for Hafiz Saeed
In Brief
PAKISTAN ELECTIONS 2023
PR Exclusive Update 35
Election Commission to challenge the PTI symbol reinstatement
On 30 December, Dawn reported that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to contest the Peshawar High Court's (PHC) decision to reinstate the PTI's election symbol. Rather than filing an appeal with the Supreme Court immediately, the ECP chose to file a review petition with the PHC, which is set for 9 January 2024. The schedule for reviewing nomination papers for reserved seats has been adjusted due to the ECP’s non-compliance with the PHC’s directives. The last day for assigning political parties their election symbols is 13 January 2024. Aside from obvious political ramifications, removing the poll emblem means denying a party the seats that are set aside for women and minorities in the national and local legislatures. The legal wrangling originates from the ECP’s original verdict, which declared the PTI ineligible for a symbol owing to non-compliance with the party constitution and electoral laws. (Iftikhar A. Khan, “ECP to challenge Peshawar High Court verdict on PTI election symbol,” Dawn, 30 December 2023)
Shehbaz Sharif strengthens anti-PPP alliance in Sindh
On 30 December, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif wrapped up a two-day visit to Karachi, cementing Sindh's anti-PPP alliance. Shehbaz finalized a deal with the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and obtained promises from the MQM-P for a long-term political alliance. The alliance wants to run against the PPP in the upcoming general elections. If PML-N wins power, he promised to implement centre-funded transport and water initiatives in Karachi. Shehbaz emphasized the necessity for infrastructural development while criticizing Karachi’s fifteen years of governance. The head of the PML-N, Ishaq Dar also cited limited seat adjustments with other parties, while PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar asserted that the judiciary is partial towards the PTI. (Amjad Mahmood & Imran Ayub, “Shehbaz solidifies anti-PPP poll alliance in Sindh,” Dawn, 30 December 2023)
PML-N fails to secure seat deal with MQM for Karachi elections
On 30 December, The News International reported that despite high-level negotiations, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) has failed to reach an agreement with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan on a seat adjustment formula for the upcoming general elections in Karachi. Shehbaz Sharif's PML-N delegation failed to persuade MQM to jointly contest and choose a candidate for NA-242. The MQM stated that they were reluctant to give up NA-242 in support of Shehbaz Sharif. Despite differences they both agreed to keep talking through committees. The MQM requested more time for intra-party deliberations, and additional meetings are planned after the nomination papers are reviewed. (Azeem Samar, “ PMLN fails to convince MQM on seat adjustments,” The News International, 30 December 2023)
PTI requests intervention of the judiciary for free and fair elections
On 30 December, The News International reported that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan had requested the aid of the judiciary in connection with an alleged plot to exclude the PTI from the voting process, referring to the denial of the party its electoral symbol. He criticized Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders for contesting the Peshawar High Court's ruling on PTI’s symbol, claiming they feared facing the nation and aimed to sideline PTI. Gohar pleaded with the legal system to take action and guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections. The PTI core committee accused the Election Commission of election engineering and denounced pre-poll manipulation and Shah Mehmood Qureshi's abuse. Imran Khan also urged the youth of Sindh to cast their ballots on 8 February, 2024, break free from the bonds of fear, and secure their future. (“PTI seeks judiciary’s help for free, fair polls,” The News International, 30 December 2023)
ECONOMY
Weekly inflation in Pakistan hits 43.25 per cent
On 30 December, Dawn reported that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics stated that weekly inflation had hit 43.25 per cent, marking the seventh consecutive week above 41 per cent. The spike was mostly caused by a significant increase in gas prices. The products whose prices saw the maximum spike are: gas (1109 per cent), cigarettes (93 per cent), chilli powder (81.7 per cent), wheat flour (73.8 per cent), garlic (70.7 per cent) and tomatoes (65.3 per cent). On the other hand, the price of onions fell by 12.6 per cent and the costs of bananas, mustard oil, and vegetable ghee also decreased. The short term inflation indicator known as Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) was 311.14 this week, up from 310 the week before and much higher than 217.20 which was reported a year ago. The weekly SPI was 0.37 per cent with different commodities experiencing distinct price fluctuations. (Mubarak Zeb Khan, “Short-term inflation inches up to 43.2pc,” Dawn, 30 December 2023)
EXTERNAL
Pakistan rejects India's extradition request for Hafiz Saeed
On 29 December, the Foreign Office of Pakistan officially rejected India’s request for the extradition of the chief of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), Hafiz Saeed, in a money laundering case. The request was placed with supporting relevant documents. The Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch emphasized that Pakistan and India do not have a bilateral extradition treaty. Hafiz Saeed has been convicted and is imprisoned for sponsoring terrorism and is serving multiple prison sentences. India has accused him of being the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks but Saeed has denied the claims. (Baqir Sajjad Syed, “Islamabad turns down Indian call to hand over Hafiz Saeed,” Dawn, 30 December 2023)
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“One of the saddest spectacles in Pakistan in last days of 2023 is to watch some media persons attacking Baloch women for asking why & who disappeared their loved ones. Brings to mind the demonising of Bengalis by media persons until curtain was drawn & it was too late in 1971.”
- Farhatullah Babar
“The story of Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy includes many secret “peace deals” while pursuing self-defeating “good Taliban, bad Taliban” strategy. Hopefully, Pakistan will not revert to that in its new anti-Pakistani Taliban (TTP) campaign.”
-Hassan Abbas
“Frankly, the state has lost the argument that it cared about the rule of law, and violating it was PTI's mistake. To prove someone else in the wrong, you show how things are done in the right way. With due apologies, ll that this brazenness and brute force against PTI has has proven is that PTI's quest for the rule of law in Pakistan, trampled upon by PMLn and the PDM govt, is more than justified. Nawaz Sharif has lost the people of Pakistan, and his politics forever. And our bureaucracy, police and caretaker govt have lost their self-respect. ”
- Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra
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Faisal Siddiqi, ‘The missing Baloch’
Dawn, 20 December 2023
“BALOCHISTAN has become a dystopian society. To adapt Churchill’s quote on democracy, false FIRs are considered the best of the worst form of injustices. Even extrajudicial killings are acceptable as opposed to the state policy of enforced disappearances/ missing persons. For the victims’ families, false FIRs and extrajudicial killings provide a paradoxical sense of stability to cruel injustices since they at least know whether the victim is dead or alive…In short, the missing Baloch is not merely about physical disappearance but also reveals the wishful thinking that ethno-nationalism can be vanquished through enforced disappearances.”
Farrukh Khan Pitafi, ‘Nice is good’
The Express Tribune, 30 December 2023
“It is customary to write a summary of an entire year’s major events in its final days. I have been doing this invariably for the past twenty-five years. Yes, that’s a quarter of a century. But this year, I am going to spare you of this abuse. First, this year has been nothing more than what Shakespeare called “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. Second, the new year has already been banned in Pakistan. Then what’s the point? Third, how about letting bygones be bygones? Let’s try to do something productive this year.”
Arif Hasan, ‘The disappeared’
Dawn, 30 December 2023
“The government in power needs to release all disappeared persons, make available the bodies of those who have been killed so that funeral rituals can be performed, and set up the necessary institutional arrangements that ensure that in the future there will be no disappearances that lack a registered FIR and/ or in violation of human rights as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.”
Pervez Hoodbhoy, ‘No longer Jihadistan’
Dawn, 30 December 2023
“Fortunately, Pakistan has moved up the learning curve. Fruitless negotiations with TTP have rightly been abandoned and terrorists are being confronted with force. But Pakistan’s Punjab-centric leaders have learned nothing about how to handle outstanding national grievances. A recent example is the extrajudicial murder of Balach Baloch, one which has led to mass protests across Pakistan…Dealing with Pakistan’s estranged nationalists needs political sagacity and a willingness to accept them as equal citizens of Pakistan who have been wronged. Else, be prepared for unending militancy and a miserable 2024.”
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“The election machinery is in motion, but the expected vibrancy in pre-poll activities is absent.”
-An opinion in Dawn, ‘Electoral lethargy’
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