Chatter Box

Elections 2008 Part II February 18, 2008

17th February 2008-An off day for me, no office no lunch with friends. So I had the whole day for myself, I decided to go out and get some vegetables for the week as it was Sunday and daddy was not home today, he was busy with some project deadline. I started my car at 12 noon, drove to the market and while I was there I noticed something really strange something that everybody was seemed to doing, I realised there was a pattern to it. Everybody was in a hurry, they were all buying things in unusual quantities as if there is a war going to start and they are filling up their cabinets with all the food and groceries.

 I asked a lady who was at the shop buying bread and milk, that too in quantities enough for a week, why are you buying so much if the shops are gonna be open on tuesday as usual. She replied beta tum ko nahin maloom elections mein kuchh alag result aa gaya tab 27th december walay haalaat ho jaayen gey.

I talked to my neighbor, three more strangers with the same answers. To check on this and to re-confirm my research, I drove to hasan square from North Nazimabad and saw the same look on people’s faces and the same way of buying stuff. I went to Jumbo Books to get some books and cds, I watched people buying movies in bulk the average was 6 movies per person. After seeing all this, I came to one conclusion that people are so scared of the 27th december incident they are taking no chances and leaving no room in ensuring that they do not suffer as they had from 27th to 29th december.

Elections this time are gonna be very crucial, that we all know. But what I feel is that the turnout would be low due to the sense of insecurity in people, nobody feels safe. There is another aspect to the shopping abnormality and that is what the lady in the shop told me, if the results of the elections are not what is expected then we might see some disturbance in the country. Specially when Zardari, C0-Chair PPPP, has said if the polls are rigged we will start a nation wide movement. Though, Mutahhida has said that they will accept all the results whatever they maybe, but we might just see if they loose on the previosly mentioned 4 seats there would be some problems in some areas of the city.

There also have been news pouring in that polls have been cancelled in some parts of the country, polling stations have been blown up by bombs, firing incidents in Quetta injuring a candidate, another in Lahore. BUT the government has repeatedly said everything is under control(Yeah Right!!).

There are more rumors emerging from lahore this time that PML(N) will have a clean sweep in Lahore and Shaikh Rasheed might just retire from politics after loosing out to Javed Hashmi and Hanif Abbasi. JUI(F) Leader Mr. fazl Ur Rehman has indicated polls are likely to be rigged which confirms what I stated in my previous entry that we might just see some unexpected results on his strong constituencies.

Lets just pray that whatever the results are at day end tomorrow, Pakistan remains peaceful and its people remain safe and sound either watching movies or going to the polling stations. And the business will flourish irrespective of who is forming the government and who is in the opposition, who is the Prime Minister or who will become the new President. Amen.