Adil Najam
Its time to take stock of the year 2006. Its also time for another ATP Poll.
We did think of doing something around a ‘Person of the Year’ theme and I even thought of a few possible candidates (here, here and here). But that seemed too obvious, and more likely to turn into a popularity contest rather than a thought-provoking discussion.
Instead, we want to focus on the following question:
WHICH EVENTS AND TRENDS FROM 2006 ARE MOST LIKELY TO LEAVE A LASTING IMPACT ON PAKISTAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY?
Our desire is to have the focus not just on what has happened in 2006, but in the implication of what happened in 2006 on the FUTURE of Pakistan. The emphasis is clearly on the future, and we hope to have a good discussion on why, which trend will impact the future of Pakistan, how.
(An explanation of what we mean by each choice is given below; because of a cache plug-in your vote may not appear in the results immediately.)
Unlike previous ATP Polls (on women rights, Gen. Musharraf’s future, past leaders, and Gen. Musharraf’s performance), the challenge here is not in phrasing the question but in figuring out possible options for the answer. Since we do not have the technological ability to allow readers to add their own options, we have narrowed down the list to the following ten key events and event-related trends. We are sure other things that could have been added to this, but without wanting to make this too long, too unwieldy or too broad, we have decided upon the following possible events and trends as answer choices. (Some of are very directly related to a specific event but signifying broader underlying trends; others are broader trends that relate to a collectivity of multiple smaller events.)
Movement on Pakistan-India relations (also here and here), especially including recent moves by Pakistan on Kashmir and related improvements in Pakistan-India relations.
Hiccups in Pakistan-USA relations (also here), including Pres. Bush’s visit to India and Pakistan and Gen. Musharraf’s visit to USA.
Frictions in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, including the re-rise of Taliban.
The killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti (also here) and the continuing unrest and volatility in Balochistan.
Signs of an impending break-up of the Mutihadda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), including over the resignation issue.
Positive economic trends, including rise of foreign investments in Pakistan (including for high visibility projects like the Centaurus), strength in some service sectors like telecommunication and banking, etc.
Negative economic trends, including rise in cost of living, inflationary pressures, stock-market controversies, etc.
Continuation of sectarianism and sectarian violence, including various attacks during first part of the year.
The passage of the Womens’ Rights Bill (also, here and here) and related events signifying a change in role of women in society (here, here and here).
Changes being brought into education curriculum and other educational reform, including how other communities and religions are portrayed within historical and other texts.
If you do want to influence the results, please, by all means ask your friends to also vote. Feel welcome to use the ‘Email’ button at the very top to send to your friends.
Voting is anonymous; as it should be. This is, of course, not be a very scientific poll, but it will at least give us a sense of what this community � the ATP cohort � thinks. Do vote, but please vote only once (even if you are smart enough to beat the system somehow).
Here is what Mr. Cowasjee has to say on Baluchistan:
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20061224.htm
I have a feeling Bugti’s murder and the events in Balochistan are likely to cast a long shadow over future events in Pakistan. Read Cowasjee’s latest column in Dawn here: http://dawn.com/weekly/cowas/cowas.htm
i voted fer teh sectorian violence tht plagues the society religious ethnic feudal n military!
Maybe there are too many choices here. I agree that the women’s Bill can bring in long term positive change but the most danger in the immediate term is from the Bugti death and the situation in Baluchistan. It has to be handleed very very carefully.
I did not vote for it but the inflation and cost of living issue is also very serious for ordinary Pakistanis.
I voted for the women’s rights bill; our constitution is flaky and its enforcement is worse. But, these things do have an impact and I hope it slowly undoes some of the wrongs of the Zia era.
The thing to look for in 2007 will be how the politics shakes out. Call me a foolish optimist, but I really do hope the king party makes some sort of alliance with mainstream parties like PPP. Sure, they are all corrupt but the coming together (even if just temporarily) of mainstream parties will definitely be better than the current situation of mullahs of MMA and terrorists of MQM exercising mafia control over the country.
And yeah, here’s to a world cup victory in 2007!
Yes, I know I’m an eternal optimist…you should be one too!