It appears that Pakistan’s political leaders fail to comprehend the importance of the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir following India’s actions of August 2019. As soon as it seems that a sense of respect and decency may finally prevail in parliament, members of the opposition and treasury benches remind us that while politics is a messy affair the world over, in Pakistan it features a particularly sticky sludge difficult to wash away completely. The ugly and unnecessary name-calling between the two sides echoed once more in both houses of parliament this week as opposition members cried foul over remarks made by the Kashmir affairs minister during election rallies ahead of the July 25 polls in AJK. It is unfortunate that the recently reached truce between the government and opposition members following an all-out brawl during the budget session last month has been replaced by a bitter war of words during electioneering in Kashmir. Both opposition leaders and government ministers are to blame for indulging in calling each other a bigger ‘ally of Modi’, betraying the Kashmir cause, declaring each other traitors and doubting their party leaders’ patriotism – though the current government has almost turned this into an art form. While such personal attacks and vilification should be a rarity in politics, they certainly should not be bandied about so casually vis-a-vis the Kashmir issue.
It would serve politicians well to strictly adhere to the AJK chief election commissioner’s code of conduct and refrain from muddying the region’s otherwise cordial political atmosphere. Unlike in Pakistan’s federating units, during elections, a caretaker government does not take charge in AJK and the baton is passed over to the next government without accusations of interference. All this may seem easier said than done, with both opposition and ruling parties knowing fully well the stakes involved. Although history suggests it is the ruling party in Pakistan that always manages to form a government in AJK since people look towards Islamabad for the release of funds and provision of essential services, if the PTI is unable to come up with the required numbers in the legislative assembly, it would lend credence to the opposition’s narrative that the government does not have the mass support of people behind it, which the opposition says the recent by-elections have shown. Perhaps this is why the minister in question, Ali Amin Gandapur, is going out of his way to defy the election code of conduct. Instead of issuing repeated warnings of adherence, it is time the CEC sets an example so that such violations do not become the norm.
As for the opposition’s case, although Bilawal Bhutto Zardari kick-started the PPP’s election campaign before dashing to the US, and Maryam Nawaz continues to tour up and down the scenic valley launching scathing attacks on the PTI, the example of last year’s election in Gilgit-Baltistan is all too fresh wherein both parties suffered a heavy defeat despite substantial election rallies. With the prime minister expected to begin addressing rallies in the next couple of days, one can only hope that instead of mudslinging, issues dear to Kashmiri voters such as lack of jobs and access to municipal services are raised from the podium. The extent of tension and acrimony that exists between the major parties weakens democracy in our country. We should not allow our country to fall victim to such politics which sends out an ugly message to the world and does nothing for the cause of the Kashmiri people who have lived in misery over the last few decades.