The upcoming parliamentary elections in Pakistan scheduled for February 18 seems to be first ever bloodiest experience in the history of the nation as not only the nationalist party saw its supporters bathed in pools of blood but the country’s most popular and the largest political party leader Benazir Bhutto was also sent to heaven after addressing a rally in Rawalpindi on Dec 27.

However, her tragic death, which not only shocked the nation but the entire world as well, could not overshadow the brutalities meted out to the political workers in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Charsadda.

The growing tension arising from series of terrorist activities in tribal and settled areas particularly in South and North Waziristan, Bajaur, Mohmand agencies, Swat, Mardan, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and even in Afghanistan has direct bearing on the Pakistani elections.

The elections for which the western powers are insisting to be free and fair, has become a constant headache for the country’s military ruler President Pervez Musharraf, who breached the Constitution and fired top judiciary through unconstitutional manners, may also take another extreme step to sabotage the poll process if he senses the things were not going in his favor.

Fears of a crushing defeat in the upcoming elections have made the future of military ruler and his supporters PML-Q, MQM uncertain amid sliding popularity, and they want to derail the poll process or somehow delay it further – a similar situation which in 1971 led to the disintegration of the country.

The embattled president can not refuse from holding the elections openly nor can he handover the government to an opposition party if not ready to work with him after the elections. While, massive rigging in the elections would further mount international pressure and criticism against Musharraf.

The pre-rigging allegations had already doubted the credibility of the upcoming general elections in Pakistan. The PPP likely to grab huge sympathetic vote in the elections intensifying the evil designs of pro-Musharraf parties to rig the process what they did in previous elections to reach the parliament.

In this situation, Musharraf and his friends have been left with no option but to terrify the people through suicide attacks and target killings of opposition leaders and their supporters.

On the other hand, the MMA, also facing visible internal rifts, after 2002 general elections endorsed all the amendments to the Constitution and also agreed to form government how the President wanted. The parties apparently do politics in the name of Islam are actually acting on dictations from their masters in Pakistan army and intelligence forces. Secular forces in the country widely regard them as ‘hypocrites’.

In such a bloody situation, if the highly suppressed and deliberately kept uneducated people of this part of the world, somehow reach the polling stations to cast their ballot in favor of their candidates after crossing the streams of bloods, the results would not serve their cause.

It is clear that if the ruling party (in case of massive rigging) wins majority seats in the parliament, the opposition parties would never accept the results and if the opposition parties, not ready to join hands with the already sitting president of Pakistan for next five years, grab majority, Musharraf and his party (PML-Q) would not let them enjoy it.

In his recent tour to Europe, President Musharraf criticized the West obsession with democracy saying the people of Pakistan have not reached the mental awareness level where a pure democracy could run. He also gave an impression to the US that if his rule in the country was finished it is evident that the growing militancy in the Pakistan would engulf the entire region and the militants would destroy them all.

What the president wanted to assure the world is meant for giving extension to his stay in rule, no matter how much this nation would suffer. The growing incidents of terror in the country are reflective of the statements of the President.

What would be the conclusion of all this? The people of the country living an insecure and a miserable life due to daily bomb blasts and suicide attacks by brain washed and trained militants.

One can not expect a good result from doing a wrong job. A stalwart of Awami National Party (ANP) Afrasiab Khattak, a former chairman of Human Right Commission of Pakistan, who recently survived a bloodiest suicide attack at a rally of his party in northwest Pakistan at a time when he was addressing, has said “every nation and country confronts with crisis but during that period the government and the people join hands to resolve it. But in case of Pakistan, the nation and the government are moving in opposite direction. He said the nation is no more able to face the situation deliberately created by certain forces and the country is standing at the edge of collapse.

The military ruler has engaged all the institutions of the country to work for his stay in rule and he considers himself a legitimate ruler to the extent that every thing must ruin but he should stay in rule.

The upcoming elections in the country may bring along such a catastrophe which may fall the country into a deep quagmire – a situation for which, the US, who has its own interests in the region, is waiting for.

In that situation the President would himself invite pave a way for the US to call in her troops to control the situation what his spiritual leader Ziaul Haq did in the past and it would be the beginning of a fresh bloody game. Who will benefit from it is another subject but the future of Pakistan would not be a good one.