Re: new role for MQM
Well, one should read Fazlur Rahman in today’s DAWN. On the other hand, there was a program on ARY today where member of PML(CTBT), PPP(Zardari) and PML(Q) all agreed that election result is unexplainable and fishy and there is a lot about the result that is unexplainable, as votes in National Assembly seats were several times more than combined votes of Provincial Assemblies in that constituency.
Plus, in most urban seats, candidates won with huge majority (at places, 50,000 to 100,000 votes where most of the time, elections were closely fought), that has never happened before, though in rural areas, election results shows a very different scenario, as seen traditionally, where they are fought closely.
Result of this election is that, two parties emerged as National parties, they are PPP and PML(Q), where as PML(N) came out as party of only urban Punjab. Most surprising is that, if PML(N) became so popular in Pakistan than why only in urban Punjab?
[It is believed that some in PML(N) is thinking to rename their party as PML (CTBT) … that is, Punjab Municipal League(Chota Tind and Bara Tind) :)].
Anyhow, Fazlur Rahman may be accused of anything, but he is not a politician who is expected to show grudges or lack sportsmanship, and it was unexpected of him to allege something wrong in election. Fazlur Rahman is not ronu (those who cry) like PPP and PML leaderships. Here is what Fazlur Rahman says.
http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/21/top8.htm
Poll results prepared before Feb 18, alleges Fazl
By Abdus Salam
BANNU, Feb 20: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has alleged that poll results were prepared well before the Feb 18 election on the basis of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) promulgated under agreements reached with some exiled leaders.
Talking to journalists at the Durrani House in Mewakhel on Wednesday, he said he had no plans to move the court against the results despite reservations expressed by some leaders of his party.
“We have some reservations. The turnout which was low during polling turned out to be quite high during the counting. The unofficial results declared at polling stations were different from those announced officially,” he added.
The JUI-F chief said that a meeting of the party’s parliamentary and central executive committees would decide about a future line of action in a couple of days.
He said the JUI-F would prefer to sit in the opposition in the national as well as provincial assemblies. However, he said that his party would support the move for restoration of the Constitution.
“People have given their decision. Now the position and worth of every party are clear. People’s mandate should be respected and protected,” he added.
Maulana Fazl said the next government would face a number of internal and external challenges inherited from the previous rulers.
He said that the religious alliance had suffered the drubbing because of APDM’s boycott of the elections. “The decision was wrong and people did not respond to the boycott call. The APDM has miserably failed to keep the people away from polling stations.”
He said that Qazi Hussain Ahmed and his team should confess to have committed a blunder which had shattered the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.
Maulana Fazl accused the government of keeping him away from electioneering on the pretext of security cover.
Answering a question, he said President Pervez Musharraf was over-confident about his popularity and had said that he would quit whenever he felt that his popularity graph had declined. “And now that the nation has given its verdict, there is no moral justification for President Musharraf to stick to power.”
He said the war against terrorism and extremism was a drama staged by the establishment to malign the MMA government in the Frontier. “The situation in the volatile tribal areas will soon be normal and the army and paramilitary forces will start withdrawing from the areas.”
He said a strong, stable and secure democratic set-up required complete independence of the judiciary, adding that the release of a few judges would not resolve the judicial crisis.