SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE VI COURSE: BA LLB SEMESTER VI TEACHER: MS. DEEPIKA GAHATRAJ MODULE II, PAKISTAN PARTY SYSTEM (PART 3)

(v) The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is the incumbent party in the 2013 elections, having led a coalition government through a tumultuous period in Pakistan's political history. The party won 124 out of a possible 272 seats in the National Assembly after the 2008 polls, largely due to anti- incumbent sentiment amongst voters and a swell in support following the assassination of party leader and former prime minister .

Founded in 1967 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Benazir's father, the PPP positions itself as a secular, centre-left socialist party, with a strong emphasis on using public-sector expenditure as a way to address income and social disparities. The party has been voted into power four times since its inception (1977, 1988, 1993 and 2008), but this last term was the first time it completed its full five- year term in office - making it the first Pakistani civilian-led government to do so.

Since its formation, the PPP has been a major political player, relying on a combination of pro-poor rhetoric and inspirational leadership (primarily in the form of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto - both of whom were killed while carrying out political activities and are considered martyrs by the PPP faithful). The party, to many voters, represents a force that stands against the country's powerful military and civilian establishment - even if that analysis does not stand up to substantive scrutiny when examining the PPP's stints in government.

This election, however, the party faces rampant anti-incumbent sentiment of its own, as suffer from high levels of unemployment, inflation, a power crisis and a complex and deteriorating security situation that the PPP-led government appeared powerless to address. The party has also been perennially dogged by corruption allegations - most notably those aimed at its leader, President . There is also some dissatisfaction among the PPP cadre as to how Zardari, Bhutto's widower, has run the party since her death, sidelining many party stalwarts and installing people loyal to him in key positions. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his 24-year-old son, has been appointed the party chairman, continuing the legacy of Bhutto's leading the party. It remains to be seen what role, however, the young Bhutto-Zardari plays in the election campaign. The party is expected to hold sway in its traditional stronghold of province, but will face stiff competition in Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

(vi) The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI, or Movement for Justice) is the wild card in this year's parliamentary race. Led by , this party was formed in 1996, after Khan retired following a remarkably successful career as an international cricketer. The party's aim was primarily to wipe out corruption and tackle ineffective governance in a country where both have crippled attempts at government service delivery.

The PTI was largely politically irrelevant for the first decade or so of its existence, but shot to prominence in 2012 when it held massive political rallies in Lahore, and elsewhere. The party's platform remains largely unchanged: Khan promises that he will wipe out “major corruption” within the party's first 90 days in office, and its manifesto states that it is built on an “anti-status quo” foundation. The party also says that it will declare a “national emergency” on energy-sector reform, expenditure reform, revenue collection and development of human capital indicators. Khan has promised to establish an “Islamic welfare state” in several campaign speeches. The party's policy on homegrown militancy advocates an approach based on dialogue with those elements wishing to lay down their arms and a disengagement from the country's current alliance with the United States, citing the partnership as one of the key causes of militancy against the Pakistani state.

Electorally speaking, the PTI has bolstered its ranks with former members of the parties it has slammed in the past for exercising patronage politics, and will likely give the PML-N and PML-Q a tough fight in rural constituencies in Punjab. It also provides an alternative to the secular ANP and religiously conservative JUI-F in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. In Sindh it has positioned itself as an alternative to the MQM, long accused of exercising a violent brand of politics, in the province's urban areas.