Where, for example, is the army’s strategy for rolling back militancy inside Pakistan — beyond military operations in the tribal areas and parts of KP? To hack off some branches of militancy — as the army is doing in confronting the anti-state TTP — while leaving others unmolested — the infrastructure of ‘jihad’ orientated towards Afghanistan and to some extent Kashmir is believed to be intact — is simply not adequate. Then there is the army’s own history of sponsoring jihad that needs to be reckoned with honestly — something even the forthright army chief has been unable or unwilling to dilate on. And finally, little is said about the armed forces’ internal
situation, about the rank and file and leadership tiers that may increas-ingly be infected with xenophobia, extremism or even worse. In fact, Gen Kayani’s stance so far can be interpreted as a sign of concern mixed with confusion, reflecting a military leadership that perhaps has finally understood the problem with its age-old policies but is too cautious or fearful to try and reverse them. Given the number of troops that have been killed on the frontline, Gen Kayani should be aware that to defeat militancy, clarity is needed — on all sides and with all audiences.

The Karachi Zoo regularly loses other animals too, and for similar reasons. But notwithstanding media reports, conditions just don’t seem to improve. Zoo officials blame the situation on financial constraints, saying that if they were given even 10pc of the revenue the facility earns, improvements would be possible; an order that 25pc of the revenue should be spent on the facility was never im-plemented, they complain. Things are rapidly reaching a crisis point.

If the zoo administra-tion cannot improve the conditions in which the animals are kept, it might be time to start thinking about shutting down the facility for humane reasons. Certainly, as a first step the zoo must stop accepting or acquiring animals or birds that it cannot pro-perly house. This grim procession of death and neglect has to be brought to an end.

To campaign in public or not was a sensitive decision for the PPP. But even if the party opted for caution it made absolutely no attempt to find a way around the Taliban threat to connect with the people. It left the party without a leader. Pakistanis at large were denied a choice which they had earlier exercised, regardless of whether or not they wanted to exercise it now.

Over vast areas in the all-important Punjab, the PPP had only a ghostly presence resonating in its tragic refrain about its past leaders and their sacrifices.

In line with his rather ‘journalistic’ analysis of the situation, Mr Zardari agreed with general media projections about how many National Assembly seats the PPP could have ended up with: around 60, and obviously not the number that leads to hopes of retaining power. But a bigger catch, especially in Punjab, could have perhaps helped the party avoid all these new and brushed-up obituaries about Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s invention. Without exception, the PPP’s 2013 elegy implicates its incumbent leadership in the party’s failures. Mr Zardari now regrets his decision of not giving up the presidency for leading the party’s election campaign. This admission serves no purpose other than seeking to restore to the de facto PPP head some of his old reputation as a sharp politician — sharp in retrospect. The moment has passed. An election has been badly lost and a party badly bruised. Then the focus was on the party somehow finishing its term. Now the president wants to complete his term in office. The question then and now: to what effect is it other than mere formality?

Two issues must be considered; the question of re-polling as well as the murder allegations levelled by the PTI against the MQM in Zahra Shahid Hussain’s case. The PTI should have agreed to re-polling in the entire constituency especially when the ECP had agreed to the deployment of army personnel inside the polling stations. That way, if other parties had still been in the field a victory would have been more convincing, while it would have strengthened the PTI’s demands for re-polling in other Karachi constituencies where the party polled a significant number of votes. Regarding the murder of Ms Hussain, it was premature and ill-advised for Imran Khan to blame Altaf Hussain for the killing before any investigation had been conducted, especially in such a charged atmosphere. Hence the MQM’s criticism of the PTI chief’s remarks seems justified. But the MQM had also raised the temperature earlier by allegedly threatening the PTI and hurling personal abuses at Imran Khan. Ms Hussain’s murder, which police have termed a targeted killing, needs to be fully in-vestigated; in the meantime, all parties must show restraint, accept the results and move forward with the political process.

The strength, courage and endurance that such a climb demands can simply not be envisioned by non-mountaineers. But the brave young women have prevailed over not just a terrain that is amongst the most hostile on the planet, they have also won a victory for another, equally monumental challenge: that of gender equality. Particularly given the countries of their origin — Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia where patriarchy and gender discrimina-tion remain deeply entrenched — they have forged a path through a treacherous landscape. At the Islamabad press conference in March where Samina Baig and Mirza Ali announced their intention to attempt the climb, the former said that “together we are promoting gender equality”. That goal was achieved when the young woman set foot on the first step to the top; in having achieved the summit, she and her companions have presented their gender with an impressive model of standing fast.

Sectarian politics came to the fore in the Ziaul Haq era; it was given oxygen by the dictator’s ‘Islamisation’ campaign while the influence of Saudi Arabia and Iran in local politics was also a factor in its growth as far-right Sunni groups such as the SSP were formed in reaction to a more pronounced Shia political identity in Pakistan after Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Since then overtly Shia and Sunni parties have become a permanent feature on the political landscape. While the voter has repeatedly rejected sect-based groups, their rise, growth and continued presence points to key issues that must be addressed by mainstream parties. For example the MWM’s rise, which campaigned against the targeting of Shias, came about because many Shias felt the major political parties did little to protect them from sectarian militants. Such grievances appear justified. Hence if mainstream parties fail to address sectarian violence, they may face further alienation of the Shia voter.

But, the fact remains that most Shias and Sunnis in Pakistan do not vote along communal lines. For that matter, even Islamist parties have failed to attract the voter in this country. Hence Shias and other religious groups that feel victimised need to engage with political parties; the future lies in convergence with the political mainstream. As for the major parties, they need to reassure voters of all creeds that their rights will be protected and that they will work to build a society free of sectarianism. Regarding groups like the ASWJ who lost by small margins, this is indeed a troubling indication. However, this can also be countered by mainstream political parties by ensuring good governance and the rule of law, thus taking the wind out of the extremists’ sails.

On the army’s part, Mr Sharif’s suggestions in the days leading up to the election that a Sharif-led government will determine national security and foreign policies and the army will be expected to follow it will have raised some eyebrows but there was also enough in Mr Sharif’s comments to suggest that he is no way spoiling for a fight. More important will be how the incoming prime minister decides to try and influence two key relationships: with India and Afghanistan. On India, Mr Sharif’s intentions are well known and it can be inferred that the army would prefer a slower rate of progress than the PML-N supremo appears to want. On Afghanistan, Mr Sharif has said virtually nothing, meaning there is little clarity on whether he is in agreement with the preferred army option of creating the maximal space for Pakhtuns/ Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan post-2014. Internally, the PML-N has never seriously questioned military operations, but then, what is said from the luxury of sitting in the opposition can be very different from what is done with a hand on the levers of the state.

For the resolution of the matter, it would be more sensible to turn the searchlight inwards. In January, it was reported that what Pakistan lacks is a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the US under which, amongst other issues, an Internet company could be directed to abide by the laws of other countries. It should be recalled that back when the ban was imposed, other countries including India and Egypt managed to get Google to selectively bar countrywide access to the content considered illegal. The Ministry of Information and Technology, Pemra, the PTA and all other stakeholders need to get their paperwork sorted instead of wasting further time.

For the incoming government of Nawaz Sharif, the real test lies in this area. The job ahead for the PML-N is not an easy one. What we call the power crisis is in fact a complex, multidimensional crisis of governance and fiscal affairs. It is technical in nature only to the extent that improving powerhouse efficiencies and bringing down line losses can help wring a few more megawatts out of the outdated generation and transmission system. It is as much a ‘software’ issue, in the sense that realigning incentives, bringing about transparency and choking off spaces for discretionary decision-making in the power bureaucracy are equally a part of the job. A comprehensive approach is required at this point, one which aims to improve the finances of the power bureaucracy through improving recoveries and improving transparency so that we know where the money is going and where the electricity is being delivered.

If after 100 days in office, Mr Sharif should find himself chairing a meeting attended by the MD, PSO and the secretaries of finance, petroleum, water and power along with their respective ministers — and the whole objective of the meeting is to arrange money for PSO to pay for its next shipment of furnace oil — he should understand that he is on the road to breaking his campaign promise to eliminate loadshedding in two years. We don’t need more ‘energy summits’ nor do we need any more ad hoc announcements of energy conservation measures that everybody knows are not going to be fulfilled. What we need is fundamental reform, and if the new government cannot start delivering on that immediately, they might as well start pack-ing their bags on the 101st day.

This issue, repeated every election cycle in Pakistan, and one that makes a mockery of the concept of universal adult franchise, must be treated as seriously as any other form of electoral malpractice. In the run-up to the election, the ECP vowed it would go the extra mile for women voters and, in its draft bill on electoral reforms, included the requirement for re-polling at polling stations with less than 10pc turnout of registered women voters. The bill, however, was never legislated upon by parliament.
Nevertheless, according to Pakistan’s electoral laws, preventing individuals from exercising their right of franchise is as illegal as compelling individuals to vote for a particular candidate, and the ECP must take action against those who deprived women of their right. Meanwhile, it is unfortunate that only six women have been elected on general seats to the National Assembly as opposed to 16 in 2008. It is indicative of the prevailing mindset that of the 150 women who stood for election to the Assembly, only 36 had been nominated by the political parties. It is high time that our political culture casts off its regressive mindset and gives women’s vote and their representation in parliament due importance.