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Quake-hit Pakistani Kashmiris shun Islamist parties

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 July 2006, 01:32 CDT

By Kamran Haider

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani Kashmiris shunned hard-line Islamist parties in legislative assembly elections despite their prominent role in reconstruction after last October's earthquake, results on Wednesday showed .

Out of 37 declared results in the 41-member assembly, a government backed party won 19, while the rest went to other political parties and independents.

Despite problems of joblessness, high property prices, slow construction and water and sanitation issues in the wake of the quake, Tuesday's vote appeared to have gone in favor of tried and trusted candidates.

"Our choice of candidates is limited. So you see the same old faces. The Islamists failed because people are apprehensive about their hard-line views," said shopkeeper Naeem Qureshi.

The earthquake killed 73,000 people and destroyed the homes of more than three million people in Kashmir and North West Frontier Province.

The Islamists, who back militant groups fighting Indian rule on the other side of the ceasefire line dividing Kashmir, have not traditionally done well in elections in the region.

But there had been speculation that dissatisfaction with the government and their active role in helping victims of the quake might strengthen support for them. In the event, the religious alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, fielded 33 candidates in the elections and all of them lost.

In one constituency, the MMA candidate only scored 436 votes, while the winner racked up over 7,000.

Azad Kashmir, or Free Kashmir, as Pakistan calls its part of a land divided with India, has always been regarded as a puppet of Islamabad, despite having the trappings of independence, with a president, a prime minister and its own constitution.

The All Pakistan Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, supported by the government, won 19 of the seats.

Campaigning had been somber, and on Tuesday voters filed through prefabricated polling centers, tents and buildings scarred by the earthquake.

Many residents are homeless and jobless and want the reconstruction process speeded up. But the death of civil servants, destroyed infrastructure and loss of bureaucratic records has complicated the task.

Ishaq Zafar, the President of Pakistan Peoples Party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who is in self-exile, said that there had been some rigging at polling stations outside Muzaffarabad, the regional capital.

"The results are unclear as there is no clear majority for any party and we could have a hung parliament and a coalition government," he said.

Source: REUTERS

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