Pakistan Leadership: India’s hopes from the new government

WASHINGTON: Pakistan is trying to move on from a controversy-marred national election in which none of its major parties were able to win a clear parliamentary majority. Political leaders have managed to reach a power-sharing agreement for a new government. The ruling coalition would include the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), backed by the country’s powerful military, together with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and several smaller factions.

The two major parties agreed to return Shehbaz Sharif to the premiership, and appoint Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as president. New Delhi, which has been keeping a close eye on its neighbour and rival, sees the multiparty coalition as “unstable and weak,” sources told DW. This is partly due to allegations of vote rigging surrounding Pakistan’s February 8 election. The new government is also going to face intense pressure from the supporters of jailed ex-leader Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which wields the single largest bloc of lawmakers in parliament. The PTI bypassed what they claim to be a government clampdown by having most of its candidates run as independents.

With the military allegedly backing Khan’s rivals during the campaign, some in India say the outcome of the election dented the legitimacy of the Pakistani army and the authority of its chief General Asim Munir. Still, the military-friendly parties have managed to keep the PTI out of government.

“Finally, it looks as if Pakistan’s military has got what it wanted, which is a weak and pliant coalition led by parties it wants,” a senior security official told DW on conditions of anonymity. Former diplomats and policy experts pointed out that the new coalition would have to start by focusing on the Pakistani economic crisis and security issues inside the country. “Democracy is still fragile there and the armed forces continue to play a larger-than-life role. Pakistan faces multiple crises and their government will have to grapple with these as a priority.” Meera Shankar, a former Indian ambassador to the US, told DW. However, the fact that Shehbaz Sharif has managed to hold on to power offers a ray of hope. His brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has sought rapprochement with India in the past, and since his return from exile, he has made several conciliatory statements.

“God willing, we will have better relations with our neighbors,” Nawaz Sharif said in an indirect message to India during the counting of votes. Ajay Bisaria, India’s former high commissioner to Pakistan, said New Delhi prefers to look at Pakistan as it is rather than as it should be. He said that the Indian government would likely keep quiet on the allegations of vote rigging, even though it appears clear that the electoral process was deeply flawed and managed by the army. “By contrast, the US has called the election ‘competitive,’” Bisaria said, adding that it is the US’ “perceived interest” to keep Pakistan’s army “in good humour rather than weighing in for democratic values and risking an endorsement to Imran Khan’s pushback,” he told DW. For India, the key issue is whether or not the new government is able to address the issue of cross-border terrorism, according to the diplomat.

“India has no illusions that the army in Pakistan would determine policy towards India,” he added. “Any civilian government in the current state of play will have only a marginal say on India policy, but the Sharifs have a better track record on reaching out to India than Imran Khan in his three-year PTI government.”