On 5 May the Election Commission Secretary, no other than our worthy Kanwar Dilshad, took every one by surprise by announcing that the bye-elections were postponed from 18 June to late August - a set back of more than two months. Security situation in NWFP and budget preoccupations in all five assemblies were cited as the reason for the step and this was said to be based on a request received by the Election Commission from the NWFP home secretary.
There were protests. Every one joined the chorus. I protested, you protested, he, she and they protested! There was in short an avalanche! Those expressing surprise and disapproval included Mr Zardari, Mr Siddiq Al Farooq, Ms Sherry Rehman, Mr Farooq Naek, Farhatullah Babar, and Mr Rehman Malik and a host of others.
This was more than the ANP led coalition had bargained and a few hours after the Election Commission's announcement, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP communication minister, disclosed that they had sent the postponement request to the Election Commission, after a request was made to Mr Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Chief Minister NWFP by (surprise, surprise) Mr Rehman Malik, advisor to the Prime Minister on interior affairs.
According to Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Mr Malik told the CM that the Federal Government and the three provincial governments wanted to postpone the bye elections and would the NWFP government please oblige by initiating a formal request for postponement?
ANP decided to oblige their coalition partners and did what was requested. Now, Mr Rehman Malik, shortly before this disclosure, was reported to have protested about the postponement of elections as strongly as the others. His apparent double speak was therefore exposed within hours of its commitment. When confronted with this, Mr Malik first said "no comments" and then defended himself by saying that ha had done no wrong. Putting two and two together, this could be taken to mean that what he did, he did under instructions.
The real motive behind the move was seen by ML(N) people and others as step to thwart the election of Shahbaz Sharif (the Punjab Chief Minister-in-waiting) and/or of Aitzaz Ahsan who had filed his papers as an independent in apparent defiance of Mr Zardari's plans.
Anchors in various channels as well as others suspected the hand of the President behind the move but this was promptly and curtly denied. On the other hand, the question on everybody's lips was: how could Rehman Malik make the abortive move without Mr Zardari knowing about it. Their very close relationship and Rehman Malik's various actions as Mr Zardari's main trouble shooter are no secret. And here we have Mr Zardari himself expressing ignorance of and annoyance with something initiated by his very confidante! Is this politics or something much worse?
What makes the whole episode quite deplorable is that no attempt is being made to disclose the facts to an agitated nation. On the other hand, an effort is apparently being made to sweep everything under the carpet in the expectation that, with other developments taking place on the political front the matter would be soon forgotten. Would it, though? (yawajid@yahoo.com).