The English media of Pakistan during the week 12-18 August 2002 focused primarily on two election processes. The first, their own, which is scheduled in October and the second to be held in Jammu and Kashmir by India, scheduled during September and October.
Dawn reported (13 August 2002) the call by Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, Chairman of the National Kashmir Committee to evolve a national consensus on Kashmir, and quoted him saying “President Musharraf's stand on the Kashmir issue was unambiguous that the Kashmir dispute was not a regional nor a bilateral issue and that Pakistan like India was a party to the dispute which must be settled with the consent of the people of Kashmir. . He was also quoted (Daily Times, 13 August 2002) stating that elections “in Held Kashmir could not be a substitute to the plebiscite in the occupied Valley. 
Abdul Qayyum also made the interesting observation (Dawn, 13 Aug 2002) that “Azad Kashmir was providing defence line for Pakistan far away from its borders. The situation in Pakistan would have been much different from now without Azad Kashmir . The News in its editorial (‘Kashmir matters’, 16 August 2002) criticizing the “ongoing Western pressure on Islamabad to support the so-called ‘state elections’ in occupied Kashmir without understanding the consequence  and said “they fail to take into consideration the historical and legal basis of the Kashmir dispute and instead chart out a course that fits their strategic interests.  However, Daily Times in its editorial (“APHC must remain upfront  12 Aug 2002) warned that “Islamabad must beware of overplaying its hand as it has done so often in the past.’’
There was much emphasis on the nature of elections held by India in Jammu and Kashmir. Dawn, in its editorial (‘Another electoral farce’, 13 August 2002) commented: “Since 1989, when the uprising in Kashmir began following widespread electoral malpractices, India's record on polls in Kashmir has been truly abysmal ; it was sure that “there is little indication that the present exercise is going to be much different.  Daily Times (13 August 2002) highlighted the poll conducted by The Week and said, “Some 81 percent of people living in the Held Kashmir Valley believe that the state elections to be held next month will be rigged.  Later The News (16 August 2002) reported General Musharraf saying that, “the government of India has organized such farcical elections in the past…These so-called elections have invariably been rigged and have always been boycotted by the Kashmiri people. 
There were also reports on the APHC and the Kashmir Committee led by Ram Jethmalani. Daily Times in its editorial (“APHC must remain upfront , 12 Aug 2002) on the election of Abdul Ghani Bhat said, “this should go a long way in dispelling Indian propaganda that the Conference is a house divided between moderates and hardliners. It should also make it impossible for New Delhi to prevail upon the former to participate in the elections while sidelining the latter through strong-arm tactics (read, indiscriminate use of the dreaded Prevention of Terrorism Act) .
Imtiaz Gul assessing the Jethmalani led Kashmir Committee (‘Militants threaten to target candidates in Kashmir politics’, The Friday Times, August 16-22, 2002) wrote that it “has brought into Kashmiri politics a new element, the possibility at least of proxy talks between political and militant Kashmiri forces and the government of India , and was of the opinion that the “majority of Kashmiris look at the committee as an Indian ploy to rope moderate Kashmiris into the election game. 
On the emerging internal election scenario, Dawn (13 August 2002) reported that Makhdoom Amin Fahim, chairman of the People's Parliamentarians Group (PPG), and Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami “reached a consensus on creating an atmosphere of national reconciliation . The Nation (14 August 2002) reported a meeting between Raja Zafarul Haq, Chairman of the PML (N) and Makhdoom Amir Faheen, President of PPPP to discuss the “possibilities of seats adjustment to get maximum representation in the Parliament and the Provincial Assemblies, after the October general election. 
There was a lot of focus on the Grand National Alliance (GNA). Dawn (13 Aug 2002) reported the formation of the GNA by the Pakistan Muslim League (QA) and the National Alliance “with an understanding to contest the October elections on seat-to-seat adjustment basis and to jointly work in the future Parliament . The News (13 August 2002) reported that the GNA will comprise all the parties in the National Alliance (NA), as the PML-QA, Millat Party (MP), National People's Party (NPP), Sindh Democratic Alliance (SDA) and NAP and “the alliance would work to promote national solidarity and strengthen the political system. 
However, The Nation in its editorial (‘Grand National Alliance’, 14 August 2002) questioned the electoral prospects of the new combination and wrote “it is hardly a hidden secret that the establishment did much facilitation for the new alliance, and there are constant reports that serving government officials in senior and sensitive positions are working hard at the micro-level, persuading political leaders to join various parties, building various constituency-level combinations, and generally acting more as members of a parliamentary board than as government officials. 
The media also criticized the selective interest of the Western countries in free and fair elections in Pakistan. The News (‘Poll Observer’, 13 August 2002) in its editorial wrote “having no objection to cooperating with a military regime in Pakistan in their war against terror, the sudden keenness by these countries and their leaders in the restoration of civilian rule through a fair and transparent process seems more of a show. It is an effort to re-champion the cause of democracy and people's freedom that they had lost sight of in their endeavour to pin down terrorists. 
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