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Pakistan’s Military Wields More Influence Ahead of National Election: Wallstreet Journal

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Pakistan’s Military Wields More Influence Ahead of National Election

Intelligence arm goes behind the scenes, using carrots and sticks to persuade voting blocs to switch allegiances to parties military can control, politicians and human-rights groups say

By
Saeed Shah and
Waqar Gillani
July 20, 2018 8:00 a.m. ET

LAHORE, Pakistan—This nation’s military is working behind the scenes to manipulate this month’s election to try to produce a government it can better control, politicians and human-rights groups said.

The military’s intelligence arm is carrying out a campaign of persuasion, intimidation and threats, politicians who have experienced it said, in an effort to get them to change parties and to pressure key local voting blocs to switch allegiance.

The drive particularly targets the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who military officers have privately said is too soft on traditional foe India, and looks to help the avowedly pro-military party of former cricket star Imran Khan. To achieve this, the military is working closely with police, local officials and the anticorruption watchdog—all institutions over which they have considerable sway, these politicians said.

Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was expected to put up a strong challenge in the July 25 election, but in a closely fought battle with Mr. Sharif’s party, the military’s role could make the difference, some experts said. A contested result risks future instability for this country of 200 million, politicians warn. The military denies trying to influence the election.

Head to HeadSupport for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif'sPakistan Muslim League-N crumbled in recent weeksahead of the July 25 election, as the pro-militaryPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of former cricketerImran Khan continued its ascent.Voting intentions for Pakistan's national assemblyelectionSource: Institute for Public Opinion Research in-person polls,latest of 3,375 adults conducted June 13-July 4; margin of error:+/-2 pct. pts.Note: Tracks major parties only
%2013 general electionPakistan Muslim League-NPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPakistan Peoples Party2014’15’16’17’180510152025303540
Mr. Khan’s party must make huge inroads in the province of Punjab, Mr. Sharif’s stronghold, which carries more than half the seats in Parliament.

“This is an engineered election,” said Riazul Haq, who is running for re-election in Okara, in central Punjab, from Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N party. “Every tool is being used to divide Nawaz Sharif’s party and break his vote bank.”

Mr. Haq said that two months ago, he was called to a meeting by officials he wouldn’t name and told to join Mr. Khan’s party, with the promise of being its candidate in the election. He declined.

“Then my trial began,” he said.

Later in May, the country’s anticorruption agency, the National Accountability Bureau, said it is investigating him for embezzling public money meant for local road construction. He said he has no role in the spending of these funds.

“Our supporters are being forced to withdraw backing for us and some of them have done it out of fear,” Mr. Haq said.

Pakistan’s army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, says ‘people should come out and vote for whoever they want.’PHOTO: XINHUA /ZUMA PRESS
The military has staged coups in the past, but since democracy was restored in 2008, it has sought to determine policy without formally taking over. Mr. Sharif, whose party was in office until these elections, had resisted, calling for an end to the nuclear-armed standoff with India and for action against jihadist groups in Pakistan. This month, Mr. Sharif was imprisoned for 10 years for corruption, in a case his party says is politically motivated.

Before being jailed, Mr. Sharif said “irreparable damage” had been done to the election process and alleged that the push to “force” politicians to leave his party is being run by a deputy chief of the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Maj. Gen. Faiz Hameed.

The military denies the charge and said Maj. Gen. Hameed’s job is counterterrorism.

“We have no political alignment,” the military’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, said at a press conference this month. “People should come out and vote for whoever they want.”

It isn’t unusual to change parties here, but doing so under pressure is alarming, some politicians said. At least 21 of Mr. Sharif’s 126 lawmakers in Punjab defected to Mr. Khan’s party, while others went independent, hemorrhaging particularly in the south of the province.

Politicians from around Pakistan said they were approached by intelligence officials and promised spots on Mr. Khan’s ticket and in some cases even ministries in a Khan-led government.

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a spokesman for Mr. Khan’s party, said the ticket allegation is “without substance.” He said Mr. Sharif’s party “knows it’s losing the race so they are trying to create the perception of rigging.”

Supporters of Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the head of Pakistan Muslim League-N, chant slogans at a campaign rally in Pindi Gheb, in the district of Attock, in the Punjab province, on July 19. PHOTO: AAMIR QURESHI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
Yet, complaints of military interference have come from politicians from all four Pakistani provinces, human-rights groups and political parties said. Pressure has also been put on the media, which has muted reporting and opinion critical of the military, undermining scrutiny of this election process.

The military’s aim has been to skew the electoral landscape in the weeks before the vote, some experts say, with the hope of producing a weak coalition government. Polls point to such a government, which could be led by Mr. Khan’s party, after a crumbling of support for Mr. Sharif’s party in recent weeks.


“This is the dirtiest election in our history. It is also the most micromanaged,” said I.A. Rehman, of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent watchdog organization.

The other long-established major party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, said its candidates are also being bullied by military officials to switch to Mr. Khan’s party or stand as independent candidates.

The party has publicly named military officers it says are harassing its candidates in three constituencies. It said it has given the names of four military officials to the Election Commission, the official body that oversees the election.

Imran Khan, sitting at center, a former Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, attends a campaign rally in Islamabad on June 30.PHOTO: AAMIR QURESHI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
On Election Day, 371,000 soldiers will be deployed at polling stations, including soldiers inside each one—five times the deployment during the previous election. Military officers will be given judicial powers, enabling them to jail people on the spot, an authority granted by the Election Commission.

Nadeem Qasim, an Election Commission spokesman, said the soldiers were there to provide security for voters. He said the names of military officers provided by the PPP had been forwarded to the Defense Ministry “for necessary action after inquiry.”


Punjab’s interior minister, Shaukat Javed, said no allegations of election meddling by police officers have been made to him.

In another constituency in Punjab, a candidate for Mr. Sharif’s party estimated that around a quarter of its support base had been lost to intimidation, in an operation run by a major who located to the area for the election period.

“The result is hard to predict. People are scared, but they have also started to think for themselves,” the candidate said
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pakist...fluence-ahead-of-national-election-1532088001
 
The whole article is based on allegations by politicians belonging to the PMLN, whose leadership is in jail after being convicted. As has been pointed out already, none of these politicians have offered any specifics or evidence to support their allegations. Certainly many of them appear to have refused the alleged ‘offers by the security establishment to switch parties’ since they remain in the PMLN, and nothing has happened to them!

What kind of ‘intimidation campaign’ is this that these politicians refusing to the bidding of the intimidators remain free to campaign and run in the elections for the PMLN?!
 
where was this language in 2013? they know if Pakistanis actually get a leader that works towards Pakistan and doesn't have their qibla in Washington, a lot of problems will occur for them especially in Afghanistan. IK wanting Pakistan to become an islamic welfare state is exactly in line with what Quaid e Azam wanted. Liaqat Ali Khan got assassinated for the same reasons.
 
@war&peace @Ali Tariq go ahead start abuse tirade against me and the Wallstreet Journal


You are entitled to your opinion.

I although disagree to some extent... I think the military's influence and capabilities is rather exaggerated ... Exaggeration is being done by the International Media and some of their sellout Pak neo-liberal media domestically...

They cannot change an entire election towards some unpopular party.

PakParmy influence could be compared with the lobbies like in the USA ... The Jewish lobby or the Christian Evangelical groups... They have influence over the election and media.

Pak Army is aware of the traitors within our mists... They will like to ensure Nawaz 2.0 doesn't end up at the helm who falsely says "Pakistan did Mumbai Attacks"!!

The more interesting question is who from the international misinformation media is propagating this news (maybe beyond the actual scale of the problem) and why???? Hmmm. :)

In today's age of asymmetric warfare where external government compromise the political processes through social media manipulation, manufactured unrest, and cyber warfare (email hacks etc)... You have to be extremely wary of taking things at face value.
 
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@Norwegian
You keep bashing army without any kind of substantial proof and then expect everybody to believe you're not a noonie.
All these western countries whose articles you're quoting have a law that you cannot say anything against armed forces unless you have unquestionable proof, but when it comes to Pakistani army all libtards start saying it's freedom of speech. Your freedom is not at the cost of the state.
Show me one example where one of these leading newspaper has bashed their own military without proof and gotten away with it.
Even when someone in the west does it they don't accuse a whole institution but the specific individuals as in the case of Edward Snowden they accused him of treason not the CIA.
 
You keep bashing army
Wrong. International media is doing to make election results controversial. I am just warning PTI / Imran Khan fanboys to get ready after victory. Media is going to target Imran Khan everyday just like Donald Trump.
 
Wrong. International media is doing to make election results controversial. I am just warning PTI / Imran Khan fanboys to get ready after victory. Media is going to target Imran Khan everyday just like Donald Trump.
Don't worry nobody reads WSJ in Pakistan and as the american Trumpet says "Fake News".
 
All of a sudden, the western media is exploding with articles blaming army for everything in Pakistan. This is no coincidence. Its the language that Nawaz spoke. And all of a sudden, its PMLN which has become spokesman for the Pakistani democracy. Most of the columns I have read in the last few days, all begin with a PMLN statement alleging Pakistan military role in forthcoming elections.

Its a strange thing that no western press is covering corruption of Nawaz Sharif. He was tried in a fair civilian court hiring most expensive lawyers of the country. The case against hi was not political, but purely financial corruption but not a single mention of his corruption.

Nawaz and his party were incubated by military establishment in 80s. He was never a democrat but a thug enlisted by military to cut through ideological PPP at that time. Its a twist of fate that PMLN and PPP of tday are synonymous with corruption and bad governance. But all of their misdeeds are conveniently overlooked and forgotten.
 
All of a sudden, the western media is exploding with articles blaming army for everything in Pakistan. This is no coincidence. Its the language that Nawaz spoke. And all of a sudden, its PMLN which has become spokesman for the Pakistani democracy. Most of the columns I have read in the last few days, all begin with a PMLN statement alleging Pakistan military role in forthcoming elections.

Its a strange thing that no western press is covering corruption of Nawaz Sharif. He was tried in a fair civilian court hiring most expensive lawyers of the country. The case against hi was not political, but purely financial corruption but not a single mention of his corruption.

Nawaz and his party were incubated by military establishment in 80s. He was never a democrat but a thug enlisted by military to cut through ideological PPP at that time. Its a twist of fate that PMLN and PPP of tday are synonymous with corruption and bad governance. But all of their misdeeds are conveniently overlooked and forgotten.

This is called hybrid war but the narrative that media wants to hurt Pakistan Army is so strong that people don't believe them. When Dawn leaks were made they proved that army in Pakistan is target of media. Anti Army article are helping Army Pakistan is the most nationalist nation and the people are coming out to defend their army.
 
According to qoum e youth and their new father there is a global plot against Pakistan and its might armed forces.

Bhae apna gireeban tau daikho. Let me reiterate we are laughing stock for whole world and any terrorist activity around the globe is somehow connected to this PakLand and its mighty forces.

This is called hybrid war but the narrative that media wants to hurt Pakistan Army is so strong that people don't believe them. When Dawn leaks were made they proved that army in Pakistan is target of media. Anti Army article are helping Army Pakistan is the most nationalist nation and the people are coming out to defend their army.
most absurd logic ever heard. Just want to know what was wrong in Dawn leaks. Wasn't our army chief accepted all allegation in MSC (Munich Security Conference)?
 
According to qoum e youth and their new father there is a global plot against Pakistan and its might armed forces.

Bhae apna gireeban tau daikho. Let me reiterate we are laughing stock for whole world and any terrorist activity around the globe is somehow connected to this PakLand and its mighty forces.


most absurd logic ever heard. Just want to know what was wrong in Dawn leaks. Wasn't our army chief accepted all allegation in MSC (Munich Security Conference)?
i think you are forgetting that we are living in the world where might is right. it was uncle sam and saudia who supported and funded pak to launch jihadis into aghanistan during the russian invasion. US provided the weapons to those mujahideen which are called terrorists these days .remember rambo 3 in which these terrorists of today were shown as heroes fighting against the cruel russians. how many WMDs were found in iraq? do you think they destroyed libya for democracy? they should also launch attack on saudia as well which has never seen any democracy of any kind but they will never do till the time saudia acts like puppet of zionists. the day saudia even tries to move away from US sanctions, media warfare and internal conflicts will target saudia.
the simple reality is that they cant digest a muslim country to have nukes. with recent development of cpec(in which army played the most important role otherwise politicians were about to make it another kalabagh dam) it is even more important for many countries to create civil unrest in the country.majority of the pak politicians are no doubt bast*rds of the highest order. the gen public in pak is simply uneducated, oppressed and cant think even beyond roti kapra makan. so the only opposition zionists have in pak is the pak military which despite its flaws and mistakes still remains a force to be reckon with. otherwise the corrupt politicians and the idiot pak nation are bent upon destroying this country.
as far as international media is concerned we are under fifth gen warfare. they are highly active now because now their biggest pawn is rotting in jail and soon the others will join him soon. previously this military has successfully dismantled their agents like ttp, bla, mqm.

PML-N

Born in 1988
Died in 2018

Cause of death 3 heart attacks

1. Corruption
2. Khatam-e-Nabuwat
3. Narender Modi


Army is not involved in any thing.
for 3 decades they have looted this country. but yes people in punjab can still forgive their sins for a plate of biryani
 

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