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The General election in Pakistan is well underway and the polls have open at 8 am local time across Pakistan. However, there has been a clear surge of violence across the country as militia and Taliban terrorists are set to try and influence the outcome of one of the most crucial elections in its history.
This could very well be the end of the ‘Sharif Empire’ led by the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that has dominated Pakistan’s politics for decades and could see the rise of Imran Khan, the former world cup winning captain of Pakistani cricket team. Mr. Khan and his party PTI have campaigned over the past five to ten years to end the widespread corruption in Pakistan and empowering regular people. The election is seen as a race between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which is led by Shahbaz Sharif, the brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by former cricketer Imran Khan.
The election could ultimately prove to be a decisive one for Pakistan as it is at a time, when it is moving more aggressively towards Chinese alliance in Asia and away from the United States and hostility with its closest neighbor India remains elevated since the election of the Hindu Nationalist Party (BJP), led by Mr. Narendra Modi. It is also at a time when Pakistan is under severe economic stress as the United States withdrew its billions of dollars in aid.
According to the latest reports,
- Violent attacks have already occurred across the country in the first few hours of voting.
- At least 22 people have been killed in an apparent suicide bomb attack in Quetta, the troubled capital of the Baluchistan province. The death toll from this attack could rise further.
- One person was killed and three injured after PTI supporters exchanged fire with those from the secularist Awami National Party (ANP) in Swabi, a city in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
- The reports are coming of a grenade attack in Larkana, in the southern province of Sindh, the home of the Bhutto family.
As Pakistanis flock to vote in this year’s election, the turnout could reach a record high.
