Pakistan is undergoing a new parliamentary election in January 2024. However, there are some worries that the military is going to manipulate the results to ensure that the recently incarcerated Imran Khan’s political party does not win. Khan is a former Pakistani premier who was arrested on corruption charges and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, has made sure that the election committee will be in charge of the election, rather than the military. Pakistan’s government has been spiraling out of control ever since Khan’s arrest. Many supporters of Khan took to protests and vandalism to express their anger. Pakistan is also going through an economic crisis due to large floods that killed nearly 2,000 people. Kakar has tried to maintain some sense of belief in the government during this election season. However, a loss of trust in the government could be very harmful to the Pakistani government.
These are very delicate times in Pakistan, and Kakar must tread lightly when making decisions for the Pakistani people. The government is already in a fragile position, so this election must go smoothly to prevent any anger or mistrust from the citizens of Pakistan. The Pakistani people are already fired up because of the arrest of Imran Khan, and the belief that manipulation in the election could cause riots and possibly revolutions. This is very similar to what happened in the United States election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump supporters believed that the US government wanted to prevent him from being reelected and that the government manipulated the election. Therefore, these radicals stormed the United States Capitol building, rioting and in protests of the election. This could very well happen in Pakistan. A persuasive leader can get the citizens of a country fired up and willing to fight for this leader. And if Pakistan can’t figure out this election, it is very possible that what happened in the US could happen in Pakistan.
This relates to class because Pakistan was dealing with an authoritarian regime. The Pakistani government was able to remove that authoritarian leader, but there are still many lingering effects of that regime. The citizens still believe in that leader, and want another person from that political party to take control of the government again. There is very little sense of democracy in Pakistan, however, Kakar and the rest of the government are trying to ensure that the government is functioning in the best interest of the people. They are trying to ensure some sense of belief in democracy to eliminate any lingering effects of an authoritarian government.