Written for Muslims Times by Abdul Alim: In the hyper righteous hype before the current elections, the chorus of political experts, anchor analysts and pseudo liberal moralists kept exhorting the nation to go to vote and prove that the nation stands united against Taliban. Well the nation went to vote in overwhelming numbers (more than 60%) and still elected pro-Taliban Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf  (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to rule the country.  There was a complete rout of what Pakistani experts label as liberal secular parties like Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Mutthida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP).  So one would like to ask, what was the choice posited to the nation. At various times this was called a battle between Pakistan and Talibanistan. The nation was told that if they went out and voted in large numbers they would secure a Pakistan from being talibanized. Given the active coalition between the PML-N and militant terrorist groups, fifty of whom openly contested the elections; it seems that the party was able to even steal the far right vote that often goes to the religio-political parties. To believe that elections, the most unfair and the most unfree ever in the history of the country, and participation in them will draw a line between Pakistan or Talibanistan was a false choice. No major change in direction is expected. Someone stated that if elections could really bring a change, it would have made illegal a long time back.

The fact that a large percentage of votes went to PML-N and PTI and shows that the terrible mis-governance by PML-N, its complicity in the repeated and serious violation of rights of Muslim and Non-Muslim minorities and active collaboration with militant organizations that pose an existential threat to the country, were ignored by the people who decided that these issues are not important. That PTI emerged as a large second most popular party instead of PPP, shows that the nation decided that it will continue on the path of appeasing the Taliban militants and believes that the increasing space going to pro-Taliban forces is the right way to go. It would be an understatement to say that this has serious and ominous consequences for the marginalized population groups who have been hounded by the militant organizations. The record of PML-N is well known on minorities. While un tested in the government, PTI’s clamour, just before elections on proving its credentials, as a certified “Muslim” party and its well-known policy of appeasing the Taliban both point towards the fact that all minorities in Pakistan must brace themselves for serious and flagrant persecution.

The second worrying and emerging pattern that poses a future risk to the integrity of the country, is that no political party is now able to truly represent the federation. The complete route of PPP in Punjab and the inability of PML-N or PTI to get any respectable representation in other provinces show that the worrisome trend of the federation drifting apart continues to gain strength. Although the results are still coming in, the provisional numbers show that PTI, a Pathan led party will now form a government in Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa, PPP, with its origin in rural Sindh, will form a government in Sindh albeit with the urban divide represented in coalition with MQM. PML-N, a party led by a Punjabi will lead in Punjab. Baluchistan will be governed by a majority Baloch coalition. With PML-N leading in the centre, the complaints of smaller provinces of a Punjab led hegemony running the centre will continue to gain steam as the ethnic and provincial divides become wider.

The country is in dire straits economically, politically and ideologically. Whoever forms the government will find that the question on whether Pakistan is a secular, pluralistic Muslim democracy or a theocratic Islamist State will continue to haunt them. With this election today, the achievement of Jinnah’s Pakistan looks even more remote. I just hope that all these concerns prove false and that we do make progress in answering these issues as a nation. Long Live Jinnah’s Pakistan.