UK Parliamentary Elections 2010

A Conservative minority government with the support of the Liberal Democrats is, narrowly, the favored solution to the electoral stalemate. The poll of 514 voters showed that 53 per cent supported that option, with 47 per cent opposed. A close runner-up is the option of Labor remaining in government in a formal agreement with the Lib Dems. This was backed by 51 per cent and opposed by 45 per cent. It was favored by nearly nine out of ten Labor voters.

A small majority (52 per cent) oppose the Conservatives forming a coalition government with the Lib Dems, though this is backed by 46 per cent, including about four fifths of Tories. The public are evenly split -- 43 to 45 per cent -- on Gordon Brown remaining as Prime Minister. More than a third of Lib Dems back him staying.

The least appealing scenario is for the Conservatives to form a minority government with the support of the Ulster Unionists, favored by 29 per cent, and opposed by 52 per cent. About 60 per cent of Tory voters support this.

The poll shows that one in seven (14 per cent) are pleased that we have a hung Parliament, but more than half did not vote. Almost two fifths (37 per cent) are worried about a hung Parliament, with women more concerned than men (44 versus 31 per cent), and professionals and managers more than other social groups. When asked if they had known on 6 May what they knew on 8 May, after the results, only 7 per cent said they would have voted differently.

Urgent Policy Attention
The British people did not get the clarity they needed badly in the parliamentary election. This does not bode well for Europe, grappling with questions on the role of the euro and the existential meaning of political federalism. Britain's fiscal position, not linked to the euro, is not yet in crisis. But the unemployment overhang of 8 per cent, or 2.5 million people out of work, required urgent policy attention.

There was a faint hope that the concurrent societal breakdown in Greece over mismanaged public finances, and the nervousness being felt in Portugal and Spain, would galvanize British voters to offer up a clear mandate to either the incumbent Laborites or the Conservatives. One or the other had to have the backing of numbers in the House of Commons to get requisite austerity measures passed. Sharply declining markets all week in Europe, Asia and Wall Street were signaling a failure of government and eroding investor confidence. This could continue.

The British had a wasted election. The outstanding feature was the failing of the Conservative prime minister-presumptive, David Cameron, in getting a leader's message across to the nation. He had the advantage of a challenger's hunger to see off an extended incumbency, and Britain's struggle to recover from the recession was an incumbent's Achilles' heel for the taking. But his best was just not good enough. He has fallen short.

He said on election night that Gordon Brown's Labor Party had lost the mandate to govern. This was accurate only as a numerical claim, in the roughly 100 seats the Conservatives have gained at the expense of Labor. But he has not got a majority and the electorate up and down the country is divided. And he looks deflated, nothing like a winner. Cameron could yet emerge as the prime minister when the horse trading is done in the next week. But would he have the firm mandate that is the victor's due?

Underrated Man of Action
The three main parties now go into an extended period of backroom dealing to patch together a government. Prime Minister Brown was properly respectful of tradition in saying he only wanted to play his part in Britain having a 'stable, strong and principled government'. Well spoken - this decent and underrated man of action did not look defeated even as the Conservative tally inched up. If Labor can make a deal with the Liberal Democrats over their leader Nick Clegg's professed distaste for the Laborites, it would be a personal triumph.

The United Kingdom would be in steady hands. If he yields sportingly to the Conservatives, he lives up to his words. And Clegg? What the Lib Dems' modest results prove is that television idols have a short shelf life. If he obtains a sizeable role in government, he will have to grind out to win his spurs.

Tripartite Conference on Afghanistan

Recently, an urgent conference was held between foreign ministers of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. The conference recognized the important role of these three countries in establishing peace, stability, and development of the war-torn Afghanistan. It was also stressed that only those countries should participate in the conferences who are the immediate neighbors of Afghanistan. The foreign ministers of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan agreed on the expansion of this tripartite conference and stressed on the need for the inclusion of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan¸ Tajikistan and Peoples Republic of China.

Handling Osama
If this conference is viewed in the background of the international conference held in the United Kingdom earlier this month, this conference is taking place to exclude India from this group. This enjoys the support of the Western powers and it is probable that China is also supporting this move. This step should have been taken prior to launching the attack on Afghanistan, when George W. Bush was asking for handing over Osama Bin Laden. He had rejected the Taliban offer of handing over Osama Bin Laden to a neutral country. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan had cut off their diplomatic ties with the Taliban, although these countries had recognized the Taliban government earlier. In this regard, the oppressive Pervez Musharraf violated the international law laid down in the Vienna Convention of 1961 and 1963, by handing over the ambassador of Afghanistan, Mullah Zaeef, to the United States.
The US security officials slapped him while taking him into custody. He fell on the ground as a result of the slap. Later his beard was shaved and put in the Guantanamo Bay prison. No crime was proved against him and he was later released. This act is so shameful that if any other country does the same act with a US ambassador, the United States will have no right to object to that. Since, this is a tradition of international diplomacy, that if any nation misbehaves with an ambassador of a country, that country has the right to misbehave with the country's ambassador in the same manner.
Since the 9/11, Afghanistan is on the international radar. It has been occupied by 42 countries, including the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members. They have been authorized by the UNSC to capture Afghanistan under the garb of establishing security in the country. Russia and China are not part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), so this whole solely US drama. The other countries in this drama have no more value than the pawns of the chessboard. At present, 68,000 US forces are present in Afghanistan and during the current year additional troops will be arriving at regular intervals. As a result, the total strength of the US forces will reach the 0.1 million mark.

Prevailing Situation
It is evident from this that the United States wants to remain occupied in this region. However, Barack Obama because of the public pressure had announced a conditional troop withdrawal by 2011. Moreover, the US generals and other officials have been constantly saying that they cannot give a fixed deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The US special ambassador to Afghanistan and Pakistan has said that the withdrawal will be equivalent to surrender. Therefore, the US forces in Afghanistan cannot be called back. This is dependent on the situation prevalent in the country.
These are the ground realities. Afghanistan is an occupied country and Hamid Karazi is a puppet president of the occupied forces. The present Pakistani Government is also subservient to the United States. They are not even able to stop the drone attacks on their own soil as accepted by Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar. As far as Iran is concerned, it in spite of being against the United States has accepted and is actively supporting the pro-US Afghan and Iraqi Governments. Iran did not oppose the US attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq. Let alone this, it has also been supportive of these attack because of its open rivalry with the governments of the Taliban and the Ba'ath Party. The Khatami government, in particular, openly supported the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The United States also had the support of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan for attack on Afghanistan. On 16 May 2001, US General Tommy Frank went to Dushanbe and offered special military aid for Tajikistan because of its strategic position. The dictator ruler of that country agreed to join NATO "for the sake of peace."
At present, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have operational US Army bases and provide other facilities. In all these affairs, Russia is also included and has allowed transit facility for the nonmilitary equipment to the occupying forces in Afghanistan. As far as Pakistan is concerned, they are fighting the US war for the sake of the $1.5 billion aid. It is also raising a loud hue and cry for more aid because their economy has been destroyed because of this antiterrorism campaign. However, China is a silent spectator in this scenario and is watching this scene. It has only raised concerns about the presence of such a large US and NATO forces close to its border, but nothing more than that.

Development of Afghanistan
The conference highlighted all states involved in the theatre of war taking place in Central and South Asia, so that it becomes evident on the readers that except for China there is no neutral state. Although India is not close to this region, the Western powers are trying to involve India into this conflict. India gained the maximum from the fall of the Taliban government. It seems as if they have taken the contract for the development of Afghanistan. They are involved in making roads, bridges, dams. In addition, they are training the Afghan Police.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and Abdallah Abdallah are both pro India as is evident from their anti-Pakistan planning and policies. Then, how can anybody talk about the exit of the Indians from Afghanistan. No doubt, Shah Mahmood Qureshi can call such numerous conferences, but the opportunity to solve this problem has been lost by the Pakistani rulers when it could be sorted between the regional states. As far as Americans are concerned, as previously stated, they along with their European allies and puppet rulers of the developing countries launched an offensive against Afghanistan. In addition, they by involving the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have made this problem an international issue. Now, when the United States is feeling that it is unable to defeat the freedom fighters, it has asked its counterpart, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to arrange a carnival. Naturally, the London Conference is going to be an international affair rather than a regional one since all countries involved in the Afghan crisis, the United States, France, and Germany are not part of the regional states. All these countries have come from a long distance to loot this country. Their mere presence in the region is the reason behind chaos, uncertainty, restlessness and terrorism in the region.

Establishing Consensus
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) had a dominant role in this area but that also has become ineffective like the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Afghanistan was the NAM fundamental member, but now when it is facing a difficult situation, NAM is not paying any attention to the same. When Russia assaulted Afghanistan, NAM had passed a resolution for the withdrawal of foreign security forces and armed militants from Afghanistan and establishing a consensus government in Afghanistan. As a result, then Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev did pull back his army from there, but the United States is worse colonial power than Russia. It wants the control of oil wealth of Iraq and by occupying Afghanistan, the United States wants to stop the supply of gas from the Central Asian states to South Asian states.
I fail to understand the Russian policies as to why it does not openly oppose the US aggression and occupation in Afghanistan. Although the United States is expanding and establishing its military bases in the Central Asian states. It is also trying to get into Ukraine and Georgia. In addition, it wants to have a puppet regime like that of Karzai and to include these countries in NATO. On contrary, Russia has failed to counter the US aggression in Georgia and the West.

Assessment
If a conference is held of the regional countries regarding Afghanistan, it will be known as a US drama because of the participants mentioned in the above lines are all partial and want to strengthen the Karzai government. Now, Karzai does not have even the confidence of his parliament. How can the Taliban have confidence on those countries that have been supporters of the Northern Alliance and are still supporting them? Therefore, this issue can only be sorted out by a war for freedom, which it has been carrying out for the last nine years.

Growing Problems For Pakistan

When the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reached London after completing his Chinese visit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has advised President Zardari to demonstrate more performance in eliminating "extremism" in Pakistan. The key ally and right-hand country of the United States, the United Kingdom has demanded this from President Zardari after military operation that rendered 3.5 million persons homeless in Swat, Buner, and Malakand Agency and the killing of Baitullah Mehsud in Waziristan.

However, the US and British forces in Afghanistan are confronting continuous failures. The negative repercussions of this war have been appearing in the United Kingdom after the dead bodies of the British troops killed in Hilmand reached the United Kingdom.

War on Terrorism
However, the worry of the US and British rulers is not going to mitigate after the Pakistani Government and the Army have rendered millions of people homeless in Swat in war with their own people. Even Pakistan has put its own domestic security under threat by allying itself in the so-called war on terror unleashed by the United States and European countries. Despite this, the US and UK masters are not ready to put trust in the Pakistani rulers.

President Zardari is begging for cash support for the rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Swat during his foreign trips. However, he did not get any response in this regard so far. The meetings of the "Friends of Democratic Pakistan" to support the IDPs from Swat are continuously underway. Approximately $ 5 billion have been pledged. However, this aid could not be delivered.

UK Grants Economic Aid Granted
However, the British Prime Minister Brown has directed President Zardari to do more work during him meeting, he has also demanded the guarantee that the aid of 655 million pounds assured by the United Kingdom should be spent at right places. Continuous meetings of the "Friends of Democratic Pakistan" are underway. However, the foreign master is not ready to put trust in the Pakistani rulers.

Expansion of US Embassy

In this background, the expansion of the US Embassy, the establishment of the US military base, and the US deal with a private terror organization Blackwater in the name of security are the burning topics regarding Pakistan's security. After the details in this regard published in the Pakistani newspapers and media, it is required that anti-Pakistan, the United States and the Western countries should be resisted.

Future Ahead
Pakistan's secret and intelligence agencies responsible for frustrating the plans of the enemies of the nation have given open letter to the foreign agencies like CIA and FBI, they have also become their operatives. In the backdrop of this grave situation, the chief Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan, is continuously inviting all segments of Pakistan, including political and religious parties to organize an anti-US public drive.

Syed Munawar Hasan, during his address in the Jamia Mosque in Mansoora (JI headquarters in Lahore), said that the United States has made Pakistan its colony. Pakistan is being encircled from all sides. Open attack has been launched on the sovereignty of Pakistan. Therefore, it is the duty of all patriotic parties and citizens to raise their voices against it and bring the common people on roads.

Syed Munawar Hasan has also written a special article on the topic -- the Anti-US Alliance. He has appealed to the leaders of all political parties in it saying the basic need of the hour is an Anti-US Alliance. He wrote that there was no other option to save Pakistan. This is the call of time. He wrote that all parties in the government had struck a deal to safeguard the US priorities and interests.