‘Used to be a festival’: Why Pakistan is seeing a subdued election campaign
Al Jazeera
Crackdown and censure on the main opposition party turns the run-up to the February 8 election into a lukewarm affair.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan – Muhammed Iqrar stands outside his small shop in Muslim Town, a commercial area in Rawalpindi. Something is amiss, he says.
“We have general elections in less than a month, but I don’t recall our area being so dead before,” the 46-year-old says.
“We used to have buntings, banners, flags, music blaring from the speakers put up by different candidates. … It used to be a festival. Now, it’s just so quiet.”
Pakistan, a country of 241 million people, is scheduled to hold its delayed national elections on February 8. But the vote has been tainted by allegations of rigging made by the main opposition party, headed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Khan, by many accounts the country’s most popular politician, has been behind bars since August under various charges. He is also barred from standing in the elections due to his conviction in cases he says are part of a military-backed crackdown on him and his party.
