RIYADH, Feb 17: As the nation goes to polls today, overseas Pakistanis living in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf are tense, tracking events back home with weary eyes. With virtually no one sure of how things would shape up after elections, Pakistanis here are apprehensive. Most now expect an era of instability to descend upon the country in the immediate aftermath of the elections.

And it is not only Pakistanis who are getting worried. Common Saudis also seem interested in what has been happening in Pakistan and how events unfold. Arabic newspapers have been carrying special reports on Pakistani politics in detail these days. A few days back, a leading Arabic daily carried a feature on family feuds within the Bhutto clan. An interview with Fatima Bhutto was also included in the issue. Indeed the English newspapers, catering to the one million plus strong Pakistani community in the kingdom, are providing comprehensive coverage of the polls in Pakistan.

A very respected and leading Saudi newspaper editor, known to have close ties with Pakistan and Pakistanis, asked me rather in an exasperated way, ‘what was happening to Pakistan?’

One had little answer to it. However, one thing is getting obvious to most here — Musharraf era is finally unwinding. The government has definitely lost its credibility and people are watching at every government move rather sceptically. Despite it, not every one is sure what does the post-Musharraf era — when and how it finally unwinds — mean for Pakistan. Even people in pro-Musharraf camp now feel, though there are still a few diehards in the camp, it was time for the retired general to give up. Though how that could happen, was difficult for any one to envisage at this moment.

Pakistani expatriates are gearing up all around the Gulf to monitor the election results. In Saudi Arabia, over this weekend, the issue of elections in Pakistan dominated the discussions — at times heated ones. With the country divided on political, linguistic and religious lines, Pakistanis living in the Gulf are no exception. Although politics is not something welcomed in this part of the world, virtually all the political parties, from the PML to PPP, MQM, PML-N, JUI and ANP are conspicuous here. Even the Tahirul Qadri brigade makes its presence felt in some ways.

Last Friday at an inauguration ceremony of a compilation of Urdu short stories, ‘Kanch Kay Pahar’ by a Pakistani author Farhat Parveen in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, the major issue on everyone’s lips was the upcoming elections. And one could definitely feel the polarisation and the divide within the community itself.

The issue of ‘free and fair’ elections remained a real issue with the expatriate Pakistanis the entire weekend. Most appeared sceptical on the intentions of the government. The release of attorney general Malik Qayyum’s recorded tape, by the HRW, also generated heated debate and interest within the community here. In fact critics of Musharraf — there is no dearth of them here — started informing their friends and foes of the incident through SMS, telephones, emails, citing it as another proof of Islamabad’s intentions. Many others are getting together for a close community evening, with every one hoping the morning of Feb 19 to be the dawn of new, stable and prosperous Pakistan. All eyes are on Islamabad for now!