A manifesto is known as a “published verbal declaration” through which parties express their “intentions, views and vision” about national issues and also make public their “motives” and “targets” which they plan to achieve after assuming power. Political experts believe that a manifesto is actually a pledge a political party makes with people before elections and later it acts as a gauge to measure its performance.
Read full text of manifestos: https://www.citizenswire.com/manifesto/
Table 1: Announcement of Manifestos –General Elections 2018
| Party | Date | City | Announced By | Announcement through | Language of Publication |
| PTI | 9/7/2018 | Islamabad | Imran Khan | Press event at hotel | English / Urdu |
| PML-N | 5/7/2018 | Lahore | Shahbaz Sharif | Press event | English / Urdu |
| PPP | 28/6/2018 | Islamabad | Bilawal Bhutto Zardari | Press event at National Press Club | Urdu / English
|
| MMA | 5/6/2018 | Islamabad | Maulana Fazalur Rehman | At Iftar party | Urdu, bullet points |
| ANP | 19/6/2018 | Peshawar | Mian Iftikhar Hussaun | Press Conference Bacha Khan Markaz | English/Urdu |
| GDA | 7/7/2018 | Hyderabad | Ayaz Latif Palijo | Press event at National Press Club | Urdu |
| QWP | 4/6/2018 | Peshawar | Anisa Zaib | Press Conference | Urdu |
| NP | 25/6/2018 | Quetta | Mir Hasil Khan Bezinjo | Press Conference at Quetta Press Club | Urdu |
PPP promises to ‘save and develop Pakistan’
Chairman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday June 28, 2018, presented party’s 10th manifesto titled ‘BB ka waada nibhaana hai, Pakistan bachana hai’ (We have to fulfill Benazir’s promise of saving Pakistan).
Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal said that the current economic situation in the country is unstable, adding that the state institutions appear to be at loggerheads with each other. He accused that the former government weakened the accountability institutions of the state, adding that the previous parliament remained a silent spectator in the time of crisis.
This is the 10th manifesto by the PPP during the last five decades. PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had unveiled the party’s first manifesto for General Elections 1970. Former prime minister and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had given six-party manifestos in her lifetime.
For Election-2018 to be held on July 25, 2018 the PPP became the first political party to make public its manifesto at the National Press Club, Islamabad. Moving forward from its traditional slogan, ‘Roti, Kapra and Makan’, the PPP pledged food security, guaranteed access to quality healthcare services, secure housing in sustainable and inclusive communities and social protection against all forms of external shocks in its manifesto.
Boldly Bilawal vowed that his party will not accept any form of controlled democracy. Bilawal said his party will continue to struggle to carve out a province in southern Punjab. Today, he added, Pakistan is under debt and is being isolated on the diplomatic front. “The country is facing isolation and is not listened to in the international forums despite rendering sacrifices in men and material. “The PPP has focused on resolving the issues relating to education and health and other basic necessities. We will also focus on resolving two major issues perturbing the youth — unemployment and opportunities,” Bilawal maintained.
“Measures will have to be taken to give a boost to industrial progress and development,” he said and stressed that his party will evolve a zero tax policy for the textile sector. “We will introduce measures to increase synergy between national institutions,” the PPP chairman said and added, “The rulers need to ensure that there is no exploitation of the weak and the marginalized.”
According to him, ineffectiveness to resolve the water scarcity issue is an injustice to the future generation. “We will not compromise on national integrity,” Bilawal said and added, “Our manifesto will make the rulers answerable to the masses.” The PPP manifesto highlights the issue of the current economic situation, termed it unstable, intolerable, unsustainable and exclusionary. It announced ‘Bhook Mitaao Programme’ (Hunger Reduction Programme). “The cost of doing business in Pakistan is one of the highest in the region as the cost of energy is extremely high. The PPP’s manifesto also highlights how we need to reconsider our industrial growth by coming up with a new policy.” The PPP chairman said: “The PPP’s government delivered Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in order to alleviate poverty. The BISP received international accolades, which is why it continues to date despite the change of governments. Along the lines of BISP, the PPP will introduce Benazir Kissan Card.”.
“We will give rights to women workforce that make a large part of our agricultural sector in the rural areas. No other party has empowered women more than the PPP. We will continue to do so as we believe in equal rights for all,” added Bilawal.
“The PPP’s main concern is human rights. We are going to criminalise enforced disappearances. We will also criminalise torture and ensure that Pakistan as a state honours international treaties and covenants,” he added.
PTI points the ‘Road to Naya Pakistan’
Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Imran Khan on Monday 9th July 2018 unveiled his party’s manifesto for general elections 2018, pledging that he would turn Pakistan into a welfare state if voted into power. The public cum press event was arranged at a hotel in Islamabad.
Titled “Road to Naya Pakistan”, the manifesto is composed of seven chapters and explains in detail the PTI’s agenda for the next government. One of the primary points of the manifesto, Khan said, is to turn Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state — a model the principles of which he said are also followed in Scandinavian countries.
“We will make the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) autonomous and pursue all cases of corruption,” Khan said. “We will empower the people and devolve the power to the village level. “We will introduce a non-political model of policing like the one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the rest of the provinces as well. And to ensure that Pakistanis get instant and quality justice, we will introduce comprehensive judicial reforms.”
Khan outlined the major issues of all the regions and vowed to resolve them. “We will bring prominent changes to the administrative structure in Karachi; ensure successful completion of FATA’s merger with KP and will allocate specific funds for it; promote politics of understanding in Balochistan; raise the movement of south Punjab province, and empower Gilgit Baltistan.”
The PTI chief further said that his party would boost the economy by creating 10 millions jobs and promoting small-to-mid-level industries. “We will make Pakistan business-friendly and turn the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into a game-changer by enhancing bilateral relations.” Khan also talked about water preservation via the building of dam, which he said would make the agricultural industry profitable for the farmers. The manifesto, he said, also has plans on introducing educational reforms in schools, religious seminaries and vocational centres.
Khan said that his party would safeguard national security and defeat the terrorists’ narrative, human resources, finances and weaponry to tackle the internal threats the country faces. However, he said that in order to curb the proliferation of arms and ammunition at international level, the PTI government would also invite India for strategic discussions. He also delineated his party’s environmental agenda, saying that they would “plant 10 billion trees to tackle environmental changes.”
Important points of PTI Manifesto Elections 2018 are hereunder:
Energy sector would be one of the top priority, Information Technology, Agriculture, water conservation and support for farmer will be given priority. Diamar and Basha Dams would be constructed. NAB, FBR, SECP and related bodies would be strengthen to control money laundering of over $10 billion per year which is coming out of Pakistan. Formation of new provinces is need of the day. Principles of Madina Riasat (State of Madina formed by Prophet Hazrat Muhammad PBUH) will be model for new pakistan that would ensure social equality. Holistic approach is needed for conservation of water in Pakistan and PTI Manifesto included water policy. Revamping of bureaucracy and Police Department.
Supremacy of rule of law, social justice, social equality, education for all, trade balance management, poverty reduction and independent foreign policy are main features of PTI Manifesto for elections 2018.
Trade imbalance will be controlled. 5 million low cost houses would be provided to people. 10 million jobs would be created through construction work. Tourism will be backbone of business in those areas where tourism can be developed. Revamping of Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR
PML-N pledges to ‘Honour the Vote’
President, Pakistan Muslim League-N, Shahbaz Sharif presented the party manifesto for Election-2018 in Lahore at a public-cum-press event. PML-N spokesperson, Marriyum Aurangzeb began by reading out a message from former prime minister and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, who regretted the “political conspiracies” his government was allegedly subjected to after coming into power in 2013. The fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Pakistan in connection with CPEC-related investment had to be postponed proved “how harmful dharnas (sit-ins) were for the national interest”, he was quoted as saying. Sharif also criticised the “unprecedented” court decisions that led to his ouster as prime minister and removal as party head.
It is incumbent upon the PML-N to ensure the progress of democracy, political harmony, protection of rights of minorities, respect for women and supremacy of the Constitution in Pakistan, he said.
PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif in his address claimed that the PML-N had introduced 11,000MW electricity to the national grid in its recently-concluded five-year tenure. Shahbaz said his party had brought peace to the entire country, especially Karachi, through military operations.
“The [PML-N] manifesto is a roadmap to include Pakistan among the top 25 world economies,’ said party leader and former interior minister Ahsan Iqbal. The policy statement envisages the introduction of an “agricultural industrial revolution” in Pakistan, he added.
In its manifesto, headlined with the slogan “Vote ko izzat do — khidmat ko vote do” [Honour the vote — vote for performance], the party has, among other elaborate promises, pledged to: Aspire for economic transformation by raising the GDP growth rate to over 7 per cent, expand scope of investments, minimise losses in state-owned enterprises, eliminate poverty by 2030 through welfare programmes, enable enterprise creation and employment, impart technical training among people, continue tax reforms to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio from 13pc to 16pc, create at least 100,000-200,000 jobs, expedite completion of long-term CPEC plan, promote value addition in agriculture and increase productivity, assist farmers with a farmer support package, increase the size of the IT industry from $3.1 billion to $10bn, expand e-governance and citizen-centric services, bridge the digital divide by doubling the access to affordable broadband, increase representation of youth in democratic forums, open Pakistan to the world, ensure speedy implementation of National Water Policy, and increase education spending to 4pc of GDP and funding for higher education to 0.5pc of GDP.
