That the Election commission of Pakistan (ECP) questioning the neutrality of the country’s caretaker government tasked with holding national elections is nothing but a clear indictment of the latter. It has accused the caretaker setup of favoring the opponents of jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan. I congratulate the ECP for expressing its concerns over the situation.

No doubt, the approach of the caretaker setup to a seemingly beleaguered PTI shows that it is a continuation of the government headed by Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). That the caretakers have been showing a lot of hostility towards PTI from the day one is a fact. Although caretaker information minister Murtuza Solangi, who was appointed DG Radio Pakistan by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) during its 2008-13 rule, has said that “we have no favorite horses in this race (elections)”, the caretaker prime minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, has often demonstrated his anti-PTI bias in recent days.

The question is how this government, which is not apolitical at all, can ensure a level playing field to all the contestants, including PTI. How ironic it is that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which was the second largest partner in the outgoing coalition government, too, is demanding “a level playing field” on a daily basis, conveying a message to people as if it was short-changed by the PML-N days before the arrival of caretaker setup in the country. Be that as it may, the current setup doesn’t appear to be apolitical or neutral in view of a variety of factors.

The election results will therefore be subject to more questions and doubts than before. Insofar as PPP’s grievance is concerned, it will have to pay a price for it has hurt its electoral prospects by causing a self-inflicted injury. The PPP’s outcry leads to a question: why should it continue to accept being constantly short-changed? Accusing some former chief justices and ISI chiefs of pushing and shoving it out of Punjab in the past won’t find many buyers, although in our digital age, it takes less time for claims and counter-claims to gain traction that it did in the past.

Haroon Rashid

Lahore

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023