Share your thoughts with our readers: Email your contribution, no less than 300 words, to [email protected] The year 2013 was one of transition in Pakistan which saw changes in the government, army and judiciary. It began with doubts and questions about the upcoming elections in Pakistan. In January, Allama Tahir ul Qadri, chairman of Minhaj-ul-Qu'ran, demonstrated his power by attracting thousands of his supporters in the federal capital of Pakistan. The situation was alarming because Tahir ul Qadri was demanding electoral reforms and an end to political corruption. So the fate of the upcoming election was questioned by many. Terrorists were targeting mainstream political parties like PPPP (Pakistan People Party Parliamentarian), MQM (Mutahida Qaumi Movement) and ANP (Awami National Party). It made it impossible for these parties to run their election campaign effectively. However, even with all of these difficulties, elections were held by an independent election commission in May and the turnout was exemplary. PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz) won the poll with a majority, PPPP and Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the second and third major political parties. It was a major milestone in the history of the country that for the first time, one elected government took over from another elected government. Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a record third time. PML-N in Punjab and PPPP in Sindh remained in power. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pervaiz Khattak from PTI took the oath of Chief Minister. People of KPK had high hopes for PTI and Imran Khan, who ran the election campaign in the name of “change”. However, change was not visible in 2013. In Baluchistan, Dr. Abdul Malik, took up the challenge of dealing with the deteriorating situation of law and order, corruption, missing persons and kidnappings for ransom. Mamnoon Hussain became president of Pakistan replacing Asif Ali Zardari. Like Zardari, Hussain also comes from Sindh. General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani was replaced by General Raheel Sharif. General Kiyani was admired for his support for the process of democracy and for keeping himself away from political affairs. General Sharif was number three on the merit list, so he was promoted by PM Nawaz Sharif to be chief of the army staff. The biggest change of 2013 was in the judiciary as the legendary Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was replaced by Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jillani. Justice Chaudhry is remembered for his famous decisions against powerful politicians and was criticized for unnecessary intervention in the bureaucracy and government and for playing to the gallery. On January 2, 2013, Mullah Nazir, a militant commander was killed in a drone strike. He was the head of the Taliban from the Wazir tribe. On November 1, Hakimullah Mehsood, the TTP commander, was killed in a US drone attack. Two of his close commanders were also killed in the attack. The attack was called a drone attack on the peace process by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, as it occurred when the government was setting the stage for peace talks with the Taliban. Terrorism remained the major problem of the year and according to some studies more than 3,000 people were killed in approximately 350 terrorist attacks. Drone attacks also created problems for the Pakistani government as the KPK government blocked the NATO forces supply route and the US refused to stop the drone attacks. The energy crisis became a major problem for the people of Pakistan. The PML-N promised to solve the problem within months during the election campaign but it failed to do so. Consumers suffered from gas and electricity load shedding. Industries were also closed due to the shortage of gas. The year saw a huge hike in the prices of items for daily use and it became very difficult for poor and middle class people to make ends meet. People who voted for the PML-N with a lot of hope were hopeless. The government failed to deliver in the public enterprises sector, such as PIA, PSM, etc. But due to the efforts made by railway minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, the railway sector was improved. Awaran District of Baluchistan was hit by a devastating earthquake. More than 380 people died and about 800 people were injured. Thousands of homes were destroyed. Malala Yusafzai, the teenage Pakistani rights activist, who was shot in the head by the Taliban, won several international awards including the Sakharov Prize and the Simone de Beauvoir Prize and was listed among the 100 most influential people of the world by Time magazine. Another Pakistani student, Haroon Tariq, broke the world record by securing 47 As in his International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) O Level and A Level exams from the University of Cambridge International Examinations. In December, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India met after a long gap of 14 years. Both sides agreed to maintain the ceasefire on the Line of Control and to share information if any innocent civilian crossed the line. For cricket the year was good as Pakistan defeated India, West Indies, Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Sri Lanka in one day internationals. But Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan in a Test match and South Africa won a test series by 3-0. Misbah-ul-Haq remained the top scorer of one day internationals and Ahmed Shahzad was top scorer of T-20s. Saeed Ajmal was the top wicket taking bowler of the year. The performance of the hockey team was disappointing. Pakistan was not able to qualify for the World Cup and the junior team placed ninth in the junior World Cup. In snooker Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Sajjad won the World Team and Six Red Ball World Championship. In kabaddi, the Pakistani team was defeated in the final of the World Cup by India. For the film industry, the year proved to be a kind of renaissance. Films like War, Main Hoon Shahid Afridi and Zinda Bhaag created a ray of hope for the Pakistani film industry. As Taylor Swift said “This is a new year, a new beginning and things will change.” So we hope that in the year 2014, Pakistan will overcome its problem and will attain a respectable place in the world. This is not difficult if the government and people sincerely want to bring about change. The need of the time in Quaid-e-Azam's words is: Unity, faith and discipline. Muhammad Asif
