Back to the AJK election. It seems neither the public nor the parties are fired by much enthusiasm. Barely three weeks to go and some candidates have yet to be declared. In my constituency of Dadyal, the senior MC incumbent is wavering. There is confusion about whether he will stand for re-election or hand the mantle over to someone else. Hopefuls are claiming he has promised to back their bid for the party ticket. The fact that he is a seasoned politician who no doubt understands the counter-productivity of raising hopes places a question mark over such claims. He is wavering because party loyalty is paper thin. There are few ideological candidates anywhere. Today’s liberal can be tomorrow’s conservative.
In the grand scheme of things, not much is at stake: it will not make a huge difference who wins. The land will not flow with milk and honey. What matters there is that no one should be harmed; injustice should not be done to anyone. This is not uncommon in Pakistan generally. All kinds of people surround politicians, including village level rogues who use their political links to settle scores, harass opponents and for personal gain. Land ownership disputes are also linked with politics. As a minimum, we need assertive politicians who can see beyond their immediate coterie of supporters.
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