Arrests And Intimidation Fuel Fears of ‘Dirty’ Election in Pakistan

Rights activists claim military is trying to swing tomorrow’s vote in favour of Khan

Widespread allegations that the military is working behind the scenes to swing Pakistan’s election this week in favour of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan are threatening to sully what is only the country’s second democratic transition of power.

The vote tomorrow is expected to be a two-way race between Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), the party headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is now in jail and has for decades had tense relations with the army.

“The military has little desire to see the PMLN return to power,” said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Wilson Centre in Washington DC, “and it is willing to engineer actions behind the scenes that undercut the PMLN’s electoral prospects in a big way.” Members of the PMLN have complained of a campaign of harassment and arrests. Many senior leaders say they have been threatened by the military’s intelligence agencies to force them to join Khan’s party.

Criminal cases have been opened against nearly 17,000 party supporters, and corruption investigations launched against several senior party members.

Members of another major party, the Pakistan People’s party, also allege military officers have pressured their candidates to switch allegiance.

The country’s leading Englishlanguage newspaper Dawn, which is considered sympathetic to the PMLN, says its distribution is being blocked. Many journalists and online activists say they are under pressure to promote the PTI and mute criticism of the army or coverage of the PMLN.

The army has directly ruled Pakistan for about half of its history. But journalists, politicians, analysts and rights activists say this is its most brazen foray into civilian life in recent years.

“This will be the dirtiest, most dishonest and rigged election that Pakistan’s beleaguered public has ever faced,” journalist and author, Ahmed Rashid said.

Sharif was ordered to be jailed in a corruption trial stemming from 2016 Panama Papers revelations that showed he had bought expensive London properties through offshore companies.

Sharif and his family have called the proceedings a conspiracy, hinting at intervention by the military. The military denies this. Many analysts fear the attempts to rig the election could lead to a hung parliament or a weak governing coalition.

Parties and rights groups are also concerned by the election commission’s decision to deploy 371,000 troops, three times more than 2013, at polling stations, and grant them broad judicial powers, including to hold on-the-spot trials and sentence anyone breaking election laws.