When the chief election commissioner of Pakistan says that the law enforcement officials would be busy in making security arrangement for the month of Moharram, which is likely to start from 10th of January, and so they won’t be available for the Jan 8 elections, so it would be prudent to slide the date of elections further to February 18th. This was the one reason he cited alongside of damage caused by the riots which erupted after the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on 27th December in Rawalpindi.
One wonders why the learned Election Commission wasn’t aware of the Moharram earlier. One also wonders why they always bungle up the whole show with phony pretexts. As Liaquat Baloch of Jamaat-e-Islami has said, it seems hard that elections will happen even on Feb. 18, as regime doesn’t seem too interested in them, as the King’s Party has been exposed by the riots and protests. So there is a strong possibility that elections may be canceled altogether, but if that happens alongside with regime the politicians of opposition will also be responsible.
The overtones of Asif Ali Zardari and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi in their respective press conferences should not be encouraged and commended. They are doing no service at all to the country and its gloom-stricken people by flaming the ethnic implications and with their mud-slinging. After watching and suffering through three days of looting, burning, plundering and killing the people of Pakistan want peace, stability, certainty and a chance to vote. The people, who have seen the fall of Dhaka in 1971, are just numb with fear. They know that Pakistan cannot afford any such tragedy. It’s the question of its survival.
Why not in the hell politicians share these sentiments of the people of Pakistan? These parties and their leaders are supposed to manifest the aspirations of people, and not the other way round. Though Musharraf is ruling this country, but this country is ours, and its economy is ours, and its infrastructure is ours, and its resources are ours, and our fates are intertwined with the destiny of this country. Why not politicians can shut their evil mouth tight, and try to not to give any excuse to regime to cancel the polls in February?
Well, the fate has given this slot to Asif Ali Zardari in PPP which he would never have expected, and now when he has it, he should show some responsibility. He did well initially to discourage the anti-Pakistan slogans, and he would do well to calm and cool off the passions in Sindh and elsewhere among the PPP activist. Chaudhry Pervez Elahi should part with his traditional idiotic villainy gestures and along with his lotas, he should also try just to keep his skin safe and try to focus on the campaign and rigging plans. Nawaz Sharif shouldn’t act that much sweet and rise above the rhetoric and play his part to lower the tensions. Other small time players like Qazi, Imran, ANP and national parties should also try to convince their supporters to vent their fury in the polls.
If opposition doesn’t stop acting wisely and prudently, there is no chance of election in near future, and perhaps that’s what they want.
