Pakistan: A democratic milestone

We Pakistanis have voted for change, said The Nation in an editorial. “Undeterred by the Taliban’s threat of mass killing,” voters turned out in historic numbers across the country to choose new leaders who can rescue the country from “economic, social, and ethical decline.” Frustrated by five years of misrule and corruption, the people booted out the ruling Pakistan People’s Party. Many rallied to cricket legend Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf did remarkably well for such a young party and will be the main opposition. But even more gave a decisive victory to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, led by two-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Pakistanis are now looking to this experienced leader to end rolling power blackouts and turn the economy around.

Let’s hope Sharif has matured, said Aasim Zafar Khan inThe News International. He “has a history of vengeance, and may look to settle scores” with his political enemies as well as with Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who deposed him in a 1999 military coup and now sits under house arrest for abuse of power. It’s also worrying that Sharif is a religious conservative who once advocated enshrining sharia law in the constitution, and that all the main secular parties have been “soundly, roundly, and democratically defeated.” That means that taking decisive action against terrorism has become “an even tougher task than it already was.” Not so, said Islam. Parties that believe in the Islamic identity of the nation will actually be better placed to fight terrorists. The defeated parties “used to rely on liberalism and secularism and made secret agreements with international forces for their vested interests.” It was on their watch that Pakistan became a home for terrorists. If the PML-N can “do away with un-Islamic activities in the country and focus attention on promotion of Islamic values,” Pakistan will find peace.

Security is important, but most voters care even more about the economy, said Ummat. That’s the main reason the PML-N was elected, after all. Sharif is an industrialist tycoon. He enjoys the trust of business, and his family has deep ties to trade and industry. “On the basis of this, we can hope that he will be able to steer the country out of the prevailing economic mess.”

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It is remarkable for Pakistan that we’re placing our hopes and trust in elected officials, said Huma Yusuf in Dawn. The high turnout “is a game changer in a country where the public has not only tolerated, but often welcomed, military rule for years.” But our responsibility as citizens goes beyond this historic vote. This year, Pakistan will get a new chief justice and a new army chief—“important shake-ups in institutions that in the past five years have sought to undermine or encroach upon the government’s mandate.” It will be up to all of us to ensure that our country remains a civilian democracy.