The outcome of the recent general elections is a big lesson for so-called secular parties in Pakistan. The Pakistan’s Peoples Party (PPP), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) suffered badly in the elections. Despite killings of several top leaders and workers of the ANP, the party lost all its previous seats, even in the party’s stronghold of Khyber Punktoonkhawa province. Defeat of the ANP also proves that how unpopular its policies were particularly with regard to war on terror.

The PPP’s performance is the worst in the party’s election history since its formation. The PPP’s many stalwarts lost their elections, including former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. The party managed to win only a few seats in the Sindh province. The major reason for the PPP’s defeat is the previous government’s poor performance, corruption and power crisis in the country.
The MQM is also facing a tough time with the rise of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Karachi. The PTI gave them the run for their money in many constituencies and there are scores of allegations against the MQM of poll rigging and bogus voting. — Khawaja Umer Farooq, Jeddah