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| Pakistanis Vote as Violence Mars End of Vibrant Campaign | Pakistanis Vote as Violence Mars End of Vibrant Campaign |
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| LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistanis went to the polls in high numbers on Saturday, in a vote that carried the historic prospect of the country’s first fully democratic political cycle despite fresh violence from Taliban insurgents. | |
| A bomb in the southern port city of Karachi killed at least 11 people, doctors said, offering an ominous start to the day after Taliban threats to dispatch suicide bombers to targets across the country. And intensifying claims of vote irregularities in Karachi raised the prospect that some of the vote would be invalidated in the country’s largest metropolis. | |
| But in several cities the turnout was very strong, supporting predictions of unusually high voter participation. Long lines remained at many polling places well into the evening, leading to the announcement that the formal poll-closing time would be extended by an hour, to 6 p.m. local time, and that even then lines would not be cut off. | But in several cities the turnout was very strong, supporting predictions of unusually high voter participation. Long lines remained at many polling places well into the evening, leading to the announcement that the formal poll-closing time would be extended by an hour, to 6 p.m. local time, and that even then lines would not be cut off. |
| An energized political campaign season has been dominated by the battle between Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister who has emphasized economic improvements, and Imran Khan, a sports star who has become a political phenomenon on the strength of an anti-corruption crusade. Despite making much of their differences, both men hold basically conservative political visions, and both have promised to rein in the United States’ influence in Pakistan. | |
| The election is Pakistan’s 10th since 1970 but only the first where a civilian government has served a full five-year term and is poised to peacefully hand power to another political administration. | The election is Pakistan’s 10th since 1970 but only the first where a civilian government has served a full five-year term and is poised to peacefully hand power to another political administration. |
| Unlike previous elections, in which the military’s Inter Services-Intelligence Directorate had been widely accused of vote manipulation and intimidation, there was little evidence of involvement in this campaign by the military, which has ruled Pakistan directly for more than half its 66-year history. | |
| Instead, the country has been gripped by election fever in recent weeks, most of it driven by the contest between Mr. Sharif and Mr. Khan. Although Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N party is favored to win the highest number of seats, it is unlikely to gain a majority thanks to an aggressive challenge from Mr. Khan in Punjab Province. | Instead, the country has been gripped by election fever in recent weeks, most of it driven by the contest between Mr. Sharif and Mr. Khan. Although Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N party is favored to win the highest number of seats, it is unlikely to gain a majority thanks to an aggressive challenge from Mr. Khan in Punjab Province. |
| Mr. Khan electrified the campaign in recent weeks with a series of mass rallies that tapped into a deep vein of support among young and middle-class Pakistanis in urban areas. Public sympathy for the former cricket star rose after he fell nearly 15 feet at a rally on Tuesday night, injuring his back. | |
| Two nights later Mr. Khan delivered his final campaign address, speaking from his hospital bed via video link, to a crowd of frenzied supporters in central Islamabad. His success in Saturday’s poll will depend partly on his ability to persuade young voters — 25 million Pakistanis under the age of 30 are eligible to vote — to stand in line in the heat and cast their votes. | |
| The election results will also have implications for the United States, which is enjoying a relatively peaceful stretch in its often stormy relationship with Pakistan in recent years. | The election results will also have implications for the United States, which is enjoying a relatively peaceful stretch in its often stormy relationship with Pakistan in recent years. |
| Mr. Sharif, a conservative and a steel baron, came to American attention in 1999 during a tense confrontation with India that averted the possibility of a nuclear conflict thanks to mediation by President Bill Clinton. | |
| A nationalist by inclination, on the campaign trail Mr. Sharif hinted that he would seek to redraw Pakistan’s relationship with America and negotiate with Taliban rebels, but offered few specifics. | A nationalist by inclination, on the campaign trail Mr. Sharif hinted that he would seek to redraw Pakistan’s relationship with America and negotiate with Taliban rebels, but offered few specifics. |
| Mr. Khan, however, has more defined ideas: he has vowed to end C.I.A. drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal belt by ordering the Pakistani military to shoot down American aircraft if necessary, and he believes that the state should negotiate with Taliban insurgents, not fight them. | Mr. Khan, however, has more defined ideas: he has vowed to end C.I.A. drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal belt by ordering the Pakistani military to shoot down American aircraft if necessary, and he believes that the state should negotiate with Taliban insurgents, not fight them. |
| The election has evoked a rare sense of enthusiasm for politics in Pakistan. Some 4,670 candidates are fighting for 272 directly elected seats in the national Parliament, while almost 11,000 people are battling for the four provincial assemblies. Aside from more traditional politicians, candidates included astrologers, openly transgender candidates, former models and the first female candidates in the tribal belt along the Afghan border. | |
| Also standing for election are dozens of candidates from Sunni sectarian groups, some with links to violent attacks on minority Shiites. | Also standing for election are dozens of candidates from Sunni sectarian groups, some with links to violent attacks on minority Shiites. |
| But the sense of a vibrant, if flawed, democracy has been tempered by Taliban attacks throughout the campaigning. The militant movement’s ability to derail wide tracks of the campaign, particularly in the mountainous northwest, is being taken as a signal that it has evolved beyond its nihilistic guerrilla roots and has become a powerful political insurgency bent on upending Western-style democracy in Pakistan. | But the sense of a vibrant, if flawed, democracy has been tempered by Taliban attacks throughout the campaigning. The militant movement’s ability to derail wide tracks of the campaign, particularly in the mountainous northwest, is being taken as a signal that it has evolved beyond its nihilistic guerrilla roots and has become a powerful political insurgency bent on upending Western-style democracy in Pakistan. |
| In a statement on Friday, the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud ordered his commanders to attack the “infidel system” of democracy, warning that teams of suicide bombers would hit targets across the country. | In a statement on Friday, the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud ordered his commanders to attack the “infidel system” of democracy, warning that teams of suicide bombers would hit targets across the country. |
| At least 17 people were reported killed in attacks across Pakistan on Saturday, including a gunfight and an attack on a polling station in the western province of Balochistan, and two explosions in the northwest, including Peshawar, that left several people injured. The deadly bombing in Karachi appeared directed at a candidate from the Awami National Party, one of three secular-leaning parties that have borne the brunt of Taliban attacks in the last month that have killed at least 110 people. | At least 17 people were reported killed in attacks across Pakistan on Saturday, including a gunfight and an attack on a polling station in the western province of Balochistan, and two explosions in the northwest, including Peshawar, that left several people injured. The deadly bombing in Karachi appeared directed at a candidate from the Awami National Party, one of three secular-leaning parties that have borne the brunt of Taliban attacks in the last month that have killed at least 110 people. |
| The police established new check posts and military helicopters patrolled the skies in Peshawar, the northwestern city that has been worst hit by militant violence over the years. Hospital staff were put on alert while billboards across the city asked citizens to be vigilant in watching for suspicious activity. | |
| But after a slow start to polling, large numbers of voters emerged by midmorning, including many women. About 300 burka-clad women stood in line outside the Lady Griffith High School, where policemen warned photographers not to take their picture. | But after a slow start to polling, large numbers of voters emerged by midmorning, including many women. About 300 burka-clad women stood in line outside the Lady Griffith High School, where policemen warned photographers not to take their picture. |
| One of the women, Saba Iqbal, a 35-year-old doctor, said she was going to vote for Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. | |
| “I never voted before, but this time I want to be part of Imran Khan’s change,” she said. | |
| Campaigning was further marred on Thursday when Ali Haider Gilani, the 27-year-old son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, was shot and kidnapped by unidentified gunmen as he addressed a campaign event in the city of Multan, in southern Punjab Province. | Campaigning was further marred on Thursday when Ali Haider Gilani, the 27-year-old son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, was shot and kidnapped by unidentified gunmen as he addressed a campaign event in the city of Multan, in southern Punjab Province. |
| Two guards who tried to protect Mr. Gilani were shot dead; the candidate was reportedly left bleeding from a gunshot wound as he was dragged into a vehicle and driven away. | Two guards who tried to protect Mr. Gilani were shot dead; the candidate was reportedly left bleeding from a gunshot wound as he was dragged into a vehicle and driven away. |
| President Asif Ali Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party, which led the last government, has found itself badly overshadowed in the race after a lackluster and leaderless campaign that was further marred by the Taliban threats. | |
| The party had developed a poor reputation for governance as the economy has faltered in recent years and ministers failed to reverse crippling power shortages that have caused misery in homes and hardship for industrialists. On Saturday, there were signs that voters may punish even party stalwarts for their failings. | The party had developed a poor reputation for governance as the economy has faltered in recent years and ministers failed to reverse crippling power shortages that have caused misery in homes and hardship for industrialists. On Saturday, there were signs that voters may punish even party stalwarts for their failings. |
| There were also signs of irregularities that have tainted some past votes. At least one party, Jamaat-e-Islami, withdrew its candidates from Karachi and Hyderabad to protest against alleged rigging of the elections at different polling stations of the city. | |
| “The votes of J.I. are being frightened and harassed by MQM armed activists in different parts of the city,” said Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, the party’s chief in Karachi, referring to the party MQM, which has traditionally dominated the city. He called for a peaceful strike on May 13 as a sign of protest against alleged rigging in the polls in the city. | |
| Prominent officials of both Mr. Zardari’s PPP party and Mr. Sharif’s PML-N party lodged accusations of vote rigging in Karachi, saying they would reject results in the city. | Prominent officials of both Mr. Zardari’s PPP party and Mr. Sharif’s PML-N party lodged accusations of vote rigging in Karachi, saying they would reject results in the city. |
Salman Masood contributed reporting from Gujar Khan, Zia Ur Rehman from Karachi, and Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud from Peshawar. | Salman Masood contributed reporting from Gujar Khan, Zia Ur Rehman from Karachi, and Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud from Peshawar. |