Results evoke mixed reaction from people

http://www.risingkashmir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1069&Itemid=55

Elections will restore peace; no one can rule like Musharraf

Baba Umar

Srinagar, Feb19: Opposition parties in Pakistan gaining ground in recently held elections have evoked a mixed reaction from the common people here in valley. Some call the elections as the harbinger of peace in the country while some people are of the opinion that nobody can rule Pakistan the way Musharraf ruled.

“I could see a breakthrough in the political impasse in the country that cropped up since the 9/11 attacks in America,” said Muhammad Rafiq Parray, a businessman. He said the polls were free and fair and could begin an era of permanent peace in the area. “It would also help to expedite Indo-Pak talks,” he added.

Syed Najam-ud-Din Shah, who runs a readymade garment shop in the city’s Forest Lane, said, “I am happy to see pro- Musharaff parties losing,” adding, “Musharaff was a US puppet, he was anti Islamic and the parties supporting him paid for it.” He said people of Pakistan have taken a good decision. Now possibilities of Pakistan becoming stable are high. “Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) will form a coalition government, and they will not include MQM in it,” Shah said, adding, the new government will work for the benefit of Kashmir.

Another Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) fan said, “Zardari should not have waited for a long time after Benazir’s killing, rather, he should have opted for early elections.” He said that had Zardari gone ahead PPP could have formed a government on its own.

“Mushraff’s popularity graph declined when he ordered military strike on Islamabad’s Lal Masjid and repealed Supreme Court judge, followed by inflation and suicide bombings,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a book seller. He added whoever comes into the power, there would be no shift in the Pakistan’s Kashmir stance. “They will continue to support Kashmir.”

Gulzar Ahmad, a staunch admirer of President Parvez Musharaff said, “Now the corrupt people are back in power, they will not do well to their own country nor to Kashmir.” He said Musharaff wanted to make Pakistan a Malaysia type developed state, but he succumbed to US pressure. “Nobody can rule Pakistan the way pro-Musharaff parties ruled,” he said, adding he is upset with the polls results.