Politicians and supporters are sitting ducks for terrorists in run-up to Pakistan’s election
All political leaders, electoral candidates and constituents are vulnerable to militant attacks in Pakistan. Three back-to-back terrorist atrocities in Mastung, Bannu and Peshawar last week killed more than 150 people, including two provincial assembly candidates, and more than 250 were injured. The purpose of these attacks was simply to kill as many people as possible across the political divide to prove that the run-up to polls is a dangerous phase of politics in Pakistan.
The attacks have terrorized the entire nation and raised concerns about the safety and security of candidates standing in the July 25 parliamentary elections. They have greatly affected the ability of all parties to openly campaign and mobilize supporters, impeding free-election campaigns because no one feels safe at political gatherings. It is a perilous situation for a participatory democracy.
“In view of tragic incidents of terrorist attacks at Peshawar on July 10 and in Mastung and Bannu on July 13, 2018, the federal government has announced the observance of a one-day official mourning throughout the country,” the prime minister’s office announced. The national flag flew at half-mast on Sunday.
While the official mourning might have a soothing effect on bereaved families, it does not bring any tangible relief or improved security for electoral candidates. Without adequate counter-terrorism measures, political leaders and their followers are sitting ducks for the militants.
These attacks also cast doubts on the execution of the National Action Plan (NAP). While suspending his party’s political activities across the country, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari lamented the incomplete implementation of the NAP, noting that: “Terrorists don’t want elections to take place.”
On July 14, 2016, Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa acknowledged: “Our journey to peace hasn’t yet reached the desired destination of complete peace, but we are successfully nearing its achievement.”
He added: “We as a nation have stood up to the challenges of terrorism and extremism and shall defeat all inimical forces undeterred.” The resolve to combat the menace of terrorism is appreciable but provisions ensuring the safety of elections campaigns are missing.
The recruits of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh have declared war on the democratic process in Pakistan, and as a result the overall domestic security situation is perilous. The killing of Awami National Party (ANP) candidate Haroon Bilour and 12 other people in the suicide bombing in Peshawar on July 10 created the impression that candidates from a political party opposed to Taliban’s philosophy would be targeted. Notably, ANP leaders and supporters have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban for years; in the past decade TTP has killed nearly 700 party workers.
The halting of election campaigns is not advisable but the candidates should not encourage mass gatherings; they should ask their supporters to arrange smaller rallies and meetings, which they are easier to monitor and guard.
Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal
The July 14 attacks on the convoy of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal National Assembly candidate, and former chief minister, Akram Durrani and Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, a Balochistan Awami Party candidate for the Provincial Assembly, and a blast at the election office of a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate in Razmak, North Waziristan, on July 3 revealed that anyone participating in the election is a target. The militants’ only agenda is to spoil the democratic process.
After the devastating attacks, the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) simply informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that there are serious security threats to political leaders and electoral candidates of almost all the major political parties. Is this enough? Instead of publicly sharing such demoralizing information that everyone is vulnerable to terrorist attacks, NACTA should share with the ECP counter-terrorism measures that would improve the safety and confidence of the people. It is the responsibility of the ECP to ensure that NACTA and other law-enforcement agencies are adequately performing their duties for the prevention of terrorist attacks.
Frankly, what NACTA is sharing it is already known. The publicizing of such information only further terrorizes electoral candidates and the voting masses. It is unintentionally serving the terrorists’ strategy, which is to instill fear and terrorize the people so that they distance themselves from canvassing. It also serves to enhance the terrorist resolve to destabilize the election process.
The halting of election campaigns is not advisable but the candidates should not encourage mass gatherings. They should ask their supporters to arrange smaller rallies and meetings, as they are easier to monitor and guard. Moreover, defending against a suicidal terrorist attack is very problematic. Therefore, instead of relying on a defensive arrangement, the law-enforcement agencies and NACTA ought to focus on preventive measures.
As it stands, political leaders and workers remain sitting ducks for terrorists. Attacks like the ones we have seen recently unleash fear, anger, anxiety and uncertainty about the continuity of the election process. The ECP immediately responded to reject this uncertainty, but without providing a reliable safety and security plan for the protection of political leaders and voters. Hence, the threat of terrorism continues to loom large and is adversely affecting electoral campaigns across the country.
The perpetrators of terrorism have succeeded, therefore, in spreading fear nationwide.
— Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal is an analyst and professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, in Islamabad.
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