Currently the Pakistani media is rife with doubts over the national and provincial elections being held on 18th February  2008 being free and fair. That is because they are being held under president Musharraf’s regime. This writer is of the opinion that all these doubts are unfounded. There may be genuine mistakes as there are bound to be in any operation as massive as the national and provincial elections but there is no cause for rigging by the government or by President Musharraf.

Here is why: President Musharraf is not a member of any party and he has already been elected president of Pakistan for the next five years. He has also on a number of occaisions declared publicly that he is willing to work with any party that forms the government as a result of the elections.

Then there is the fact that President Musharraf has proven that ‘Pakistan First’ is indeed his creed. He has done any and everything that serves Pakistan which is borne out by the macro economic indicators as recognized by the Worl Bank and others.

However much this fact is played down by opposition by saying that nothing was done for the poor masses they are unable to produce any similar example during 55 or so years of Pakistan’s independence to match Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz’s economic performance during the last eight years!

Musharraf has also refused to toe any line that is against the interests of Pakistan even if it displeases a country as strong as America an example of which is going ahead with the Iranian gas pipeline project for Pakistan despite American pressure on Iran.

Above all, President Musharraf is still authorised by the  58-2B clause in the Constitution of Pakistan to sack any government that is indulging in corruption [as the previous Peoples Party goverments did] or if they are not following the agenda of ‘Pakistan First’.

So why then should Musharraf rig the elections because he is empowered by the constitution to sack any government which fails to see eye to eye with him. This fact should be analysed thoroughly by the Pakistani media as well as the international media before unthinkingly talking of rigging in elections. Ends.

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