Thursday, May 9, 2013

Pakistani poll soaked in blood

Pakistan’s deadly election campaign is winding down with the prospect of more bloodshed to come as the nation goes to the polls at the weekend.

Almost 120 people have died in violence directly related to the election as the Pakistani Taliban continues its campaign of disruption.

And in the latest demonstration of its ability to strike whenever and wherever it wishes, Ali Haider Gilani, the son of former Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was kidnapped on his way to a meeting.

Gilani, a candidate in the election, was abducted by a group of men riding motorcycles who killed his personal assistant and wounded a guard. Inevitably, the Taliban has been blamed.

Gilani was about to speak at what has come to be called a ‘street corner’ meeting of perhaps a few dozen people called at short notice. Large rallies, which have been a feature of past elections, have been virtually curtailed by the threat of Taliban bomb attacks.

In other developments, Imran Khan, seriously injured in an accidental fall from a makeshift platform at a rally for his Tehrik-i-Insaf Party, made a video appeal from his hospital bed, urging voters to shun politics as usual and bring about a “new Pakistan”.

Khan’s party is one of the front-runners in what is likely to boil down to a three-cornered contest with the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League.

However, there are now serious concerns that fears of violence will keep significant numbers away from polling stations, reducing the legitimacy of the outcome.

In a final bizarre twist, a rare white tiger, which has been paraded as the symbol of the Pakistan Muslim League, has died leading to anger among animal lovers and conservationists that the beast had been stressed by its constant exhibition at hot, noisy, political meetings.

Voting takes place tomorrow (May 11) but a final result will probably not be known for several days.  

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