Elections have never been a calm and orderly affair in Pakistan, as in most of the countries, but the polling on Sunday for the AJK Legislative Assembly was much more than merely exercising one's right of vote. What the people saw, thanks to the TV channels' ubiquitous presence, a number of polling stations looked like gladiatorial arenas with political workers going for each other's jugular from the word go.
The question is: What is it that turned the election to the AJK Legislative Assembly into such a cut-throat contest? One may ask: Is it that the lingering issue of Kashmir has arrived at the cusp and the new assembly would be dealing with the momentous development? Or, is it that the Kashmiri electorate would like to bring to power a new, younger leadership as is the case of India-occupied Kashmir?
None of it; the same old faces have come back - among the elected are four ex-premiers and double that number of old guards. As ever before, they would be spending most of their time in Islamabad and some other bordering cities of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, looking after their family business and coming to Azad Kashmir only if absolutely unavoidable.
Politics in our part of the world being such a lucrative business the electoral process has become increasingly contentious with stakeholders invariably going for no holds barred in the election campaigns. After Nawaz Sharif showed up in Azad Kashmir - to 'teach a lesson' to his erstwhile allies in the Muslim Conference - Prime Minister Gilani too jumped in the fray to rally support for the PPP candidates. There were complaints of bogus voter lists, fake ID cards - even Nadra is also said to have played foul by opening its shop only for the PPP voters - and the partisan polling staff.
Naturally with so much in store to rig elections there were frequent scuffles and firing incidents, causing at least two fatalities. But that hardly brings this ugly electoral exercise to an end. Not only the conduct of poll is being questioned - and in case of PML (N) and Jamaat-e-Islami rejected and they are likely to challenge results in the court of law - these were boycotted by one of ruling coalition's partner, MQM.
Condemning the PPP government in the harshest-possible words for the postponement of elections to the two seats in Karachi where the MQM was poised to win Altaf Hussain had warned of walking out of the coalition. His allegation that some PPP leaders had asked the MQM "if it did not give one seat of AJK assembly from Karachi to them they would get elections postponed" is too serious to be overlooked by the election commissions of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. A day later, his party announced that it was parting ways with the government and it would now sit on the opposition benches in the Centre and Sindh.
Whatever the case the hand has been overplayed, much to the disadvantage of nascent democratic ambience. It's no state secret that the Azad Kashmir government has very little to do in respect of policy matters, as all that really matters falls in the jurisdiction of the government in Islamabad. Undoubtedly, at this particular juncture in the Kashmiris' struggle, being waged with blood, sweat and grit in the India-held Kashmir, a peaceful election in Azad Kashmir would have certainly sent a more positive message across the Line of Control.