The political fraternity in India on Saturday prayed for stability in Pakistan as the counting began to elect a new government.
Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi said that the problems between New Delhi and Islamabad can be solved by the democratically elected government of Pakistan.
“A democratically elected leadership would be able to take far-sighted decisions. The problems between us can also be solved then. It is for the first time that an elected government lasted for five years there. The next elections should also take place through democratic means and the government which comes to power, we welcome it,” Chaturvedi said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader D. P. Tripathy on his part said that a strong and prosperous Pakistan would prove to be beneficial for India.
“This is a government which completed five years for the first time. This is a government which did not harass anyone opposed to it in Pakistan. That should be welcomed. That is something which is not reported by the media here. And now elections are being held and I think a new government will come. Pakistan should be democratic. India needs much more than earlier a stable, strong and prosperous Pakistan,” Tripathy said.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Atul Kumar Anjan highlighted the importance of elections in Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s democracy is very important for India. Their democratic elections are also very important. It is for the first time that a new government is being elected democratically after the exit of the earlier one. Otherwise, they have military rule over there. Governments keep changing. Prime Ministers keep changing,” said Anjan.
“In these five years, Zardari and his government changed many Prime Ministers. The army and the ISI had control over the democratic system. We Indians view these two with suspicion. But we also know that the tides of democracy are not safe. One day due to democracy, the hold of the army and the ISI over Pakistan will weaken,” he added.
Voters in Pakistan today cast their votes in landmark national and provincial elections. The vote marks Pakistan’s first transition from one civilian government to another in its 66-year history. However, election violence has claimed a number of lives. In the worst attack, 12 people were killed and 40 others injured in a bombing on a political office in Karachi. (ANI)