Contours of Naya Pakistan

These are heady times for Pakistan. For the first time since independence, the country managed to carry out a democratic transition from one government to another. It's truly an important milestone for the turmoil-ridden country, often in news for wrong reasons.

Even in the recently concluded elections the electorate had to brave Taliban threat, bomb blasts and other forms of violence. To their credit they turned out in large numbers and it was indeed a resounding setback to militant groups, who had dubbed elections and the democratic process itself as un-Islamic.

In the run up to polls a hung assembly was predicted by many pollsters. However as the elections neared Nawaz Sharif emerged as frontrunner. For this steel tycoon turned politician it is indeed a sweet revenge from being ingloriously ousted from power in a coup in 1999, by the then General Pervez Musharraf. The wily general too had put his hat on the electoral ring, but his dreams got short circuited by the ghosts of his misdeeds as military ruler. The Pakistani Supreme Court ensured that he remained entangled in court cases, rather than court the electorate.

Sharif belongs to a family of steel mill owners and entered politics as a protege of General Zia-ul-Haq. It is said that his main motivation to join politics was nationalisation of steel plants by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Those days nationalisation was considered quite cool; in India too Indira Gandhi had nationalised banks.

His last tenure was marked with the dramatic bus diplomacy with India, which generated lot of euphoria on both sides and was equated with subcontinent's 'Berlin wall' moment. But unfortunately the thaw was short lived and got undone by a war on the icy heights of Kargil. This time around also Sharif has put peace with India a top priority, and one can only hope it does not get scuttled. The sub continent is home to people with one of the lowest per capita income and abysmal social indicators and hence can ill afford fratricidal conflicts.

This election also witnessed the emergence of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan out of fringes to become a major force. He caught the popular imagination of the public, especially the middle class and the youth and drew huge crowds during his public meetings. Though he promised to generate a 'tsunami' during the hustings, his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf failed to reach anywhere near the tally of Sharif's party. However, it will be wrong to dismiss him as 'storm in a teacup' (as some critics had done) because he managed to strongly undercut the ruling PPP's voter base.

Moreover, his PTI managed to emerge as single largest party at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province ridden with Taliban militancy. His strong anti-US stance and promise to end drone attacks has paid rich dividends. But it remains to be seen how his party is going to deliver on such promises.

The biggest loser of this election was the ruling Pakistan People's Party. The anti-incumbency and lack of a charismatic leader like late Benazir Bhutto has cost the party dear. It entered the poll fray with hardly any zest and seemed gripped by a death wish right from the word go. Even many of its prominent leaders had to bite the dust in the elections.

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