New government should give hope to demoralised masses

Lahore:  The Pakistan Ex-servicemen Association (PESA) considers it great blessings of Almighty Allah’s that for the first time in the history of the country constitutionally elected governments at the Federal and provincial levels have successfully changed hands.

This also reflects upon the cherished desire of the people who have always wanted democratically elected governments, the PESA members observed in a meeting chaired by Lt. Gen (Retd) Ali Kuli Khan.

, Air Marshal Masood Akhtar, Lt Gen Naeem Akbar, former ambassador Salim Nawaz Gandapur, Brig Mian Mahmud, Brig Syed Masud ul Hassan and others were also present on the occasion.

They said that the nation is faced with a sinking economy, power shortages, corruption coupled with failure of some of the prestigious state institutions, extreme poverty and serious threats to sovereignty of the country.

Former military leaders hoped that the new government will take appropriate steps to control downward slide of the economy and country by taking short-term, medium-term and long-term measures while observing strict austerity.

It is also felt that the situation in Balochistan will turn around for the better and new government will take steps to infuse hope in the nation, they said.

They added that by and large the elections were held in a peaceful environment but these have left behind a question mark about their fairness as almost all political parties are complaining about foul play.

The main reason for this situation is antiquated method of voting that creates opportunities for dishonesty. Even the thumb impressions taken by polling staff were of no consequence as no arrangements were in place to check their authenticity.

PESA recommends that the Election Commission must switch over to system of electronic voting. A number of systems are already available in the country for quick evaluation.

It is also unfortunate that ECP has neither implemented Supreme Court’s orders of 8 June 2012 nor its ordered regarding voting by millions of Pakistanis working abroad. It is hoped that these orders will be implemented without further delay.

As regards policy on National Security, PESA has already prepared a working document that can be used as a basis for initiating a national debate on our National Values and Vital Interests that can lead to finalizing a nationally accepted policy.