Photo : Dawn
NIAS Area Studies
PAKISTAN READER
Photo : Dawn
In Brief
POLITICS
Government and PTI to address elephant in the room
On 23 December, dialogue was to be held between the committees constituted by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and the government, marking the beginning of a series of talks between opposing parties to ease existing political tensions. The government committee consists of members from the Pakistan Muslim League, People’s Party of Pakistan, Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan, Istehkam-i-Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Q and the Balochistan Awami Party. On the other hand, PTI committee consists of members of the PTI and the Sunni Ittehad Council. The PTI sought to hold negotiations on the release of the party’s workers and supporters, as well as the constitution of judicial commission to inquire into the events of 9 May and 26 November. In an interview with Dawn, member of the government committee, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, stated that the meeting was a “step forward” to address the intraparty issues. Any action or inaction taken after the meeting would depend on whether the PTI’s demands are “workable or not,” he added. (Syed Irfan Raza & Amjad Mahmood, “Govt, PTI finally come to table to defuse tensions,” Dawn, 23 December 2024)
Fafen report reveals difference in NA and provincial assembly polls
On 23 December, a Dawn article outlined a recent report from the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) which highlighted discrepancies in the numberof votes recorded in the National Assembly and the provincial assembly in the 2024 general elections. The seats in the National Assembly exceeded the number of votes castin the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Sindh. On the other hand, votes cast in provincial assemblies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan exceeded the votes in the National Assembly. It is important to note that voters are given two ballot papers, one used to elect a representative at the National Assembly and the other utilized to elect a representative in the provincial assembly. It should be noted that the difference in the votes cast may be due to the separation of ballot boxes and the rejection of a vote by an individual while the other may be considered valid. The report highlights this difference is directly linked to the difference of the number of the invalid votes between the votes of the provincial assembly and the national assembly. The reported noted that the invalid votes from the provincial elections which amounted to 1,839,026 exceeded the votes of the National Assembly elections at 1,768,461. (Ifthikar A Khan, “Fafen finds difference between votes cast for NA, PA seats,” Dawn, 23 December 2024)
EXTERNAL
Military verdict not consistent with International obligations: EU
On 22 December, a statement from the EU expressed concern regarding the recent sentencing of 25 civilians by the military court. The EU underscored that the military court’s judgment did not align with the international human rights law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). An EU spokesperson stated that the judgment was not consistent with Article 14 of the ICCPR which lays down that every individual is entitled to a fair and competent trial. It is worth noting that Pakistan is a Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) beneficiary country of the EU. The countries under this scheme are obligated to voluntarily agree to implement 27 international conventions, like the ICCPR to maintain their GSP Plus status which provides preferential treatment in imports to developing economies. Additionally in the recent European Union-Pakistan Joint Commission meeting, Pakistan proposed an agenda to reform its National Action Plan on Human Rights, National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, and even the implementation of the GSP Plus mandate. (Amin Ahmed, “Military trial verdicts not in line with int`l obligations, says EU spox,” Dawn, 23 December 2024)