03.06.2022, Moscow.
While the main political forces in Pakistan are busy sorting things out among themselves, economic problems are growing, the standard of living is falling – and, as a result, the population is disappointed in political parties, Rossa Primavera News Agency editorial published on June 2 reads.
It was reported earlier that independent candidates not affiliated with main political parties have overwhelmingly prevailed in the local elections in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. According to preliminary data, independent candidates won 1,058 seats in 32 provincial electoral districts.
The Islamist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), which won 98 seats in local governments, came in second. The remaining parties received even smaller representation. At the same time, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party received only six seats, while their rivals from the Pakistan Movement for Justice party were content with 10 seats in local governments.
“While the main political forces in Pakistan are busy sorting things out among themselves, economic problems are growing, and the standard of living is falling. As a result, frustration is brewing within the ruling parties.
The province of Balochistan can be viewed as an indicator of certain trends. On one hand, it’s one of the poorest provinces, and on the other hand – ideas of separatism and autonomy have always been strong here. Such blatant disregard towards representatives of all major political parties shows the real level of internal instability among Pakistani voters.
Besides, there is an obvious question about the political orientation of the independent winners – Balochistan borders Afghanistan to the north.
How many of the so-called independent candidates are linked to the Balochistan Liberation Army (an organization banned in Russia) or Islamists from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (an organization banned in Russia) which already operate, according to the experts, as a single terrorist network?
A similar situation with an overwhelming majority of independent candidates was last observed 9 years ago.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
