ISLAMABAD - Pakistanâs government parties celebrated on Friday after scoring convincing wins in nationwide mayoral elections in which Islamist parties were the main losers.While political parties were barred from taking part, candidates did little to hide their loyalties. The outcome reinforces expectations that President Pervez Musharraf, a strong ally of the Westâs war on terrorism, will be re-elected in 2007. âWhat we are seeing is that enlightened, progressive and moderate candidates are winning. This is a welcome development and it will spur a new wave of progress in the country,â Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told state-run Pakistan Television.
| 'progressive', 'moderate', and 'enlightened' mean something different in Pakiwakiland. |
The Pakistan Muslim League (PML) won all but a handful of the 35 districts in the central province of Punjab, while it swept interior Sindh and its government ally, the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), captured the southern provinceâs two main cities, Karachi and Hyderabad.
Having lost Karachi, the Islamist alliance of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) also suffered major setbacks in Pakistanâs two other provinces, Baluchistan and North West Frontier. The MMA, the largest opposition block in the National Assembly, controls the provincial governments in both tribal-dominated provinces, but its grip appears to be slipping two years ahead of provincial and national polls.
| That's a shame. Golly. Perhaps they'll end up like the Whigs. |