Islamic parties crushed, pro Indian Sharif about to win Pakistan elections

[hab...@anony.net]

Gaining just 3 out of 272 seats !
No sane human being wants to live under non existent Allah's cruel
sharia laws -hand amputations , flogging women , forcing them into
ugly burqas , imposing Jaziya tax on non Muslims etc.
Hopefully Pakistanis will now start converting back to Hinduism to
consolidate their freedoms

Nawaz Sharif wants to be friends with India. Imran Khan won his
province as most his opponents were killed by the Taliban, but his
anti American rhetoric is disliked everywhere else.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22498195


Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif is celebrating with his supporters,
amid early signs that his party will be the largest after
parliamentary elections.

Media projections based on partial results suggest a big lead for Mr
Sharif's Muslim League, and he has already claimed victory.

The election should lead to the country's first transition from one
elected government to another.

The turnout was huge but the poll was marred by violence.

In Karachi, the Pakistan Taliban said they planted a bomb which killed
11 people and wounded 40 others.

The bomb was placed outside the office of the Awami National Party.

There were also attacks in Balochistan and the north-western city of
Peshawar.

Voting was extended for an hour across the country before closing at
18:00 (13:00 GMT).

'Thank Allah'
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Lyse Doucet

Chief international correspondent, Islamabad

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If this was a contest between defiance and danger, defiance won.
Despite worrying threats of violence and intimidation, millions of
Pakistanis simply wanted to be counted on this historic day.

It was humbling to see old men and women, unable to walk on their own,
bent over, and bent on casting a ballot. It was encouraging to see so
many young Pakistanis queuing for hours in blazing heat to vote for
the first time. It wasn't a perfect election. No-one expected that.

There were Taliban attacks, but more gunfights linked to long-standing
political rivalries in volatile cities like Karachi. In all four
provinces there were isolated gun battles or bomb blasts.

And, in some places, there were huge irregularities, and heated
accusations of rigging.

Many doubted elections would be held at all. Many armed groups wanted
to stop them. But the force for change turned out to be greater. Now
the results will show what kind of change Pakistan wants.

Read more from Lyse
An election commission spokesman said they hoped for a turnout of
60-80%. In 2008 it was 44%.

No official results have yet been released, but unofficial partial
results suggested that Mr Sharif's party was ahead in more than 100 of
the 272 directly elected parliamentary seats.

It is not clear if they will be able to win a simple majority in the
National Assembly.

In a speech at his party headquarters in the north-eastern city of
Lahore, Mr Sharif said that the Muslim League (PML-N) was sure to
emerge as the largest party.

"We should thank Allah that he has given PML-N [Muslim League] another
chance to serve you and Pakistan."

"I appeal for all parties to come to the table and sit with me and
solve the country's problems."

However, the BBC's Owen Bennett Jones in the city says that the mood
in the party was not one of joy, as there are so many daunting
challenges facing the country.

Mr Sharif's apparent victory is largely confined to his native Punjab
province, which has nearly 60% of the country's population, and so he
will be compelled to look for support from the three smaller provinces
for greater legitimacy.

But our correspondent says that even if he had got as few as 90 seats
he would still have been able to put together a coalition.

The Movement of Justice (PTI) party of former cricketer Imran Khan has
also performed well, with projections saying he had won a big victory
in Peshawar.

President Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is in a
race for second place with the PTI, but both seem likely to win fewer
than than 40 seats.

Outgoing Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf suffered a crushing defeat
in his own seat in Rawalpindi.

The PPP hardly tried - because of Taliban threats against it but also
because of a lack of will as it was so unpopular - our correspondent
adds.

Borders closed
Continue reading the main story
11 May elections
Polls opened at 08:00 local time (03:00 GMT) and closed at 17:00
86,189,802 registered voters
5,000 are standing for 342-seat National Assembly, 272 are directly
elected.
11,692 Provincial Assembly candidates
51 candidates are vying for the NA-48 constituency seat in Islamabad
More than 600,000 security and army personnel will be deployed to
guard against possible attacks
More than 73,000 polling stations - 20,000 of which are deemed a
security risk
Polls will mark the first time that a civilian government has
completed a full five-year term and handed over to an elected
successor
Politicians and parties
Bid to end ballot box fraud
Economy confronts Pakistan's leaders
The Pakistani Taliban threatened to carry out suicide attacks ahead of
the election.

About two hours after polling started, a bomb attack was reported in
Karachi, apparently targeting an Awami National Party (ANP) candidate
outside the party's political office.

Eleven people were killed and more than 40 others were wounded, police
told BBC News. Local ANP candidate Amanullah Mahsud was injured but
not seriously.

The attack happened in the Landhi district of Karachi, which is known
for Taliban activity. Another ANP candidate and his son were shot dead
close to the area last week.

The Taliban have been blamed for numerous attacks throughout the
campaign on Pakistan's three most prominent liberal parties.

The PPP along with the Karachi-based Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM)
and the ANP have been singled out for threats, and were forced to
curtail their campaigning as a result.

Tens of thousands of troops had been deployed at polling stations to
ensure security. In the run-up to the election, more than 100 people
died in election-related violence.

Before polls opened, Pakistan sealed its borders with Iran and
Afghanistan in an effort to keep foreign militants at bay. Officials
said the borders would remain closed for the next three days.