A serious act of terrorism has taken place, men have lost their lives, a high-profile politician was the target of the attack, and what do the politicians do? They go on in front of the microphones and cameras and proceed to indulge in a mudslinging exercise. X must have done it because they are afraid of losing.
Y must have done it because they were trying to gain sympathy. Z must have done it because they wanted to make A look bad. And on it goes, a wretched game of blame and counter-blame devoid of facts and with everyone looking to cash in politically on the deaths and injuries.
Here's what is known armed men attacked Sheikh Rashid with a clear intention to kill him while he was on the by-election campaign trail. The list of obvious suspects isn't very long. One possibility is the militants of course. Sheikh Rashid was believed to be close to Gen Musharraf and was seen as a supporter of the general's crackdown on militancy, earning him the enmity of radical elements, especially after the Lal Masjid operation. Another possibility is an age-old one political violence during election season. It will take some days, if not more, to determine who was behind the attack.
But judgment can already be passed on one aspect the politicians have behaved shamefully so far. Pakistani politics has never been for the faint-hearted and political violence has reared its ugly head on numerous occasions in the past, but these are no ordinary times. Rawalpindi has been struck again and again in recent times. Yet, instead of the politicians demonstrating a united front and rallying to the cause of democracy, they have turned on each other.
Be that as it may, the election should not be postponed yet again. Only days ago, a by-election was held to a seat in the AJK assembly which counts Rawalpindi as its constituency. Meanwhile, elections have been held in other troubled spots in the country in recent weeks and months. What's needed now is a sensible head on the shoulders of everyone involved. Security must be tightened and the local, provincial and federal governments must work together to hammer out a better plan.
The candidates too must cooperate. The details are still not completely clear, but it appears that Sheikh Rashid may have been on an unscheduled election-related trip on Monday. If everyone behaves responsibly and cooperates, there is no reason why the election cannot go ahead on schedule. Then again, the unseemly reactions to Monday's attack have made that a very big 'if' indeed.
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