Political Agendas
None of the manifestoes floated by the many political parties in Pakistan contain anything that is radically different from each other. At most priorities differ as does the language spelling them out. Certainly emphasis on many issues may be wide apart, yet ideologically they remain similar. Most agendas are nationalist in nature with “caring” capitalism posing as a soft form of socialism. The two prominent political parties in Pakistan are the PML(N) and the PPP, followed by the regional MQM and ANP, yet a number of other parties have come up to join Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s Tehreek-e-Istiqlal (TI), among them Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan and former President Farooq Leghari’s Millat Party. A strong minority is formed of a group of religious parties with the Jamaat-e-Islami prominent among them nationally, yet it is the factions of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP), along with other religious parties, that are stronger in terms of voting power that translate into seats in certain regions. As we approach the new millennium, we must first define and implement the macro issues that are a must for good governance and structure them to the benefit of the country, setting in place positive micro-management.
