By IANS
Islamabad : Campaigning for the general election later this month that had virtually come to a grinding halt after the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is likely to pick up in the coming days with the major stakeholders finalising plans for rallies and public meetings.
Quoting sources in the opposition and pro-President Pervez Musharraf parties, The News said Sunday, “Within a week or so, there would be a significant surge in election-related activities.”
At the same time, the parties are sceptical about electioneering reaching the level it had on Dec 27, the day Bhutto was killed.
“It was natural that electioneering came to a halt following the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto. But this does not mean we will not resume activities. Yes, we will from next week,” The News quoted a senior leader of Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as saying.
He pointed out that the party leadership had asked its candidates to individually remain engaged in door-to-door and corner meetings.
Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said he was not sure whether there would be the “traditional political hustle bustle” in the run up to the Feb 18 poll.
He blamed poor law and order, uncertainty and “government propaganda” for the low-level political activities. He was unhappy over the government’s warning politicians against holding big public meetings and rallies at a time when former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) was openly attending public meetings.
“This demonstrates the authorities’ selective approach. We reject it and are doing what we can to accelerate the pace of political activities,” Jhagra maintained.
On his part, Elahi is “spearheading PML-Q election campaign continuously after suspension of the activity for two or three days following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. But he right now is confined only to selective parts of Punjab”, The News said.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) is also gradually increasing the frequency of its political activities, saying it hoped to do better than in the 2002 polls.
“Political scientists say that persistent terror threat to politicians, biting chill, and price hike of key kitchen items in a way continue to keep electioneering by and large confined to corner meetings and door-to-door contacts,” The News said.
“Uncertainty with regard to holding of elections on Feb 18 and continuous whispers of national government are also believed to be partly responsible for the slow election-activity in Pakistan,” it added.