91热爆

My name is Gulsan and I was born in Pakistan, but have lived in England for most of my life. Even though I think England is my country, I still like to keep in touch with what鈥檚 happening in Pakistan.

A hold on the media

The Pakistani media was told not to report anything about the elections until voting and counting was complete, then the media would be informed about who鈥檇 won. The media was then allowed to discuss whether the elections were fair, whether they were carried out smoothly and in the right way, whether there was rigging or whether there was any party pressure.

Personally, I think the Pakistani media was not allowed to report before the results because each media organisation supports a particular party and coverage would fuel the electoral situation.

I learnt that people in Pakistan were told to go to the polling stations, have their ID papers checked and then cast their votes in big drums and not ballot boxes.

My Experience of voting in Pakistan

Last time, I was there, I actually saw people voting for their favourite party over and over again. Some were bribed, some were forced and sometimes even the ballot boxes were being changed by officers.

When I spoke to my dad about the political situation in Pakistan, who is a keen follower of politics there, (even though he doesn鈥檛 support a party)听 he says he听 was very upset that British Pakistanis were not permitted to vote even though they hold Pakistani passports, identity cards and invest a lot of money in Pakistan. He thinks the reason why they were not allowed to vote is because they would probably have voted against Pervez Mussarf.

There鈥檚 always been confusion, bewilderment听 and chaos because some are uneducated and don鈥檛 know how to vote, sometimes the polling stations are so far away people can鈥檛 get to them and sometimes like in this country, people can鈥檛 be bothered because they think that any political figure coming into power won鈥檛 make much difference to their lives or Pakistan. They think that political figures do not live up to their promises and are corrupt.

If there is a peaceful election, the only difference it will make to the Pakistanis living in England is that they can go to Pakistan more often, invest more instead of being scared of bombs or riots when they are there.听

If you want to comment or contribute your views like Gulsan get in touch, email ramaa.sharma@bbc.co.uk