The Kashmir vote

The patterns of the past were followed once more as over 2.6 million voters cast their ballots in the 9th general election held for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The party ruling in the centre, the PML-N, has swept Kashmir. It won 32 of the 41 seats on offer while no other party could manage more than three seats. The results are particularly chastening for the PPP which had been in power in Kashmir. The allegations of rigging that have immediately followed from the PPP do not mean much and had begun even before voters turned out at polling stations on Thursday. Perhaps this was because the PPP and the PTI, the two major rival parties in the contest, already feared a loss. The PML-N victory is so comprehensive that it will be able to form a government without bringing any coalition parties on board and even Imran Khan has been compelled to offer congratulations to the party rather than cry foul. Essentially, the claims made by the PTI in particular that it would sweep the polls were disregarded by the people of the region who did not seem especially interested. Barrister Sultan Mehmood, the prime minister of AJK from 1996 to 2001 and now the president of the PTI in that region, suffered a particularly humiliating defeat to the PML-N’s Chaudhry Saeed. The mood in Kashmir seemed one of anti-incumbency and dissatisfaction with influential families as, apart from Sultan, the daughter of AJK President Sardar Yaqoob (contesting from the PPP platform) was also defeated. Unhappiness at the PPP surely played a role too. Bilawal Bhutto’s sharp attacks on the government and his strangely bombastic claims on Kashmir turned the PPP’s campaign into something of a farce.

That polling day went off without major eruptions of violence is a relief given the prelude to voting. An atmosphere of fear, hatred and violence had been generated before the polls. All the parties are to blame as their leaders did nothing but fan the flames of hatred in Kashmir. Of particular note were the speeches by PPP Co-chairperson Bilawal Zardari claiming the government had failed to address India’s occupation of Kashmir because of Nawaz Sharif’s friendship with Narendra Modi. The Azad Kashmir elections should have been an opportunity for us to show the best aspects of the Pakistani side of the border. The parties should also have fought on local issues that touch both sides of the Line of Control, such as freedom of movement, rather than trying to ‘nationalise’ the election. Azad Kashmir is ‘theoretically’ autonomous but has always been dictated to by the centre. With national parties campaigning through personal attacks, they missed an opportunity to propose constructive changes which could have reduced this situation. The PML-N may have attained power in Kashmir, but now it will have to show it can be responsive to the urgent needs of its people.