The year 2021 was a contentious year for the Pakistani political landscape with the country experiencing various developments, with mixed effects. Point scoring on matters of public interest remained dominant with the welfare of the people being put on the backburner. Trivial issues used to target either side of the political landscape were on the center stage when it comes to public debate in the country.
Regardless, some of the most significant political developments of the year 2021 include the Daska by-polls, Tehreek-e-Labbaik protests, Rana Shamim’s affidavit, Gwadar unrest, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa local government elections.
Daska by-polls
The controversial by-election on a National Assembly seat in Daska was marred by rigging, violence and the disappearance of more than 20 presiding officers. The NA-75 Daska was left vacated after the death of former Pakistan Muslin League-Nawaz parliamentarian Syed Iftikhar ul Hassan.
The by-election was held in February between the lawmaker’s daughter Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar and a candidate from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Ali Asjad Malhi. The issue was taken to the Supreme Court over accusations of rigging and fraud. The apex court declared the results null and void with a re-election being held in March. The PML-N candidate Nosheen Iftikhar defeated the Malhi and was declared the winner.
TLP Protests
The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan cautioned of massive protests across the country in January if the government did not fulfill its promise of expelling the French ambassador by February 17. The government signed a fresh treaty with the party which agreed it would take the matter to the parliament.
In April, TLP once again took to the streets calling for the execution of the November agreement, insisting Pakistan downgrade its ties with France. TLP Leader Saad Rizvi was arrested during the ordeal with the federal government banning the party under the anti-terrorism law, as negotiations broke down. The TLP took to the streets once more in October this year, prompting the Punjab government to deploy Rangers in the province. Once more, the government held talks with the group and reached an agreement again with the TLP chief released and the banned status of the party was revoked.
Gwadar Unrest
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Gwadar demanding a ban on large fishing trawlers infringing on their livelihood coupled with a lack of basic health facilities and scarcity of drinking water. The protest went on for 28 days when Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the demands of the demonstrators. He said the authorities would take strict action against the illegal fishers and promised that he would speak with the provincial chief executive regarding the issue. The residents called off the protests after successful talks with the government.
Rana Shamim affidavit
On November 15, a local newspaper published an article by investigative journalist Ansar Abbasi claiming that former chief judge of Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Shamim had submitted an affidavit against the former chief justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar, who had allegedly instructed to keep former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in jail until the 2018 general elections were over.
The article claimed that Shamim confirmed the contents of the affidavit which the former chief justice denied. The Islamabad High Court took notice of the matter and initiated contempt of court proceedings against Shamim, Abbasi and the owner of the newspaper, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman. A few days back, the Islamabad High Court announced that it will indict Rana Shamim and others accused in the contempt of court case on January 7.
First phase of local body polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Opposition party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl won the first stage of the local government polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa causing an upset to the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The unexpected development signaled towards a probable change in the political landscape in Pakistan for the PTI government. A party session presided by PM Imran Khan formed a stage-wise plan for the next phase of the local body polls in the KPK and Punjab province along with the next general elections. The session came to the conclusion that the premier himself will monitor distribution of tickets between hopeful candidates.
