2002 Elections in Pakistan: A Reappraisal

Abstract

The 2002 Elections in Pakistan were held under extra ordinary circumstances. The terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001 had changed the world politics and the foreign policies of the countries all over the world. The US government decided to attack Afghanistan to hit the Taliban, accusing them for supporting 9/11 attacks and announced to launch a global war against terrorism. Pakistan was also forced to adopt the US policy as it was the neighbouring country of Afghanistan and was among those few countries that had recognized the Taliban government in Kabul. Pakistan’s U-turn on its foreign policy also affected the polls which were held a year following the 9/11 incident. Muttahidda Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), a religio-political alliance formed after the US attack on Afghanistan, got unprecedented success in the polls especially in the two Afghan bordering provinces. The paper will examine the unexpected success of MMA in 2002 Elections which was mainly due to the US war against terrorism, change in Pakistan’s foreign policy towards the US and Pakhtoon affiliation with the Afghan people. Religious sentiments of the common people, religious seminaries and unity among the religio-political parties also contributed to the success of MMA. The desire of General Pervez Musharraf to wipe the mainstream parties out of the national scene and setting up of a hung parliament in the country also contributed to MMA’s success. It will be argued that MMA was a temporary factor which appeared at political scene of Pakistan in the wake of 9/11 and US attack on Afghanistan and got success due to external factors instead of its popularity among the masses.