As soon as the popular verdict was known the incumbent government’s moles with the aid of some foreign diplomats moved with a clear view to sabotage the popular choices. The first attempt made was to cajole and coax the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to form a government without the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). That attempt as evident on March 19 blew up in their faces. But they did not give up. This is strange because a day before the elections, the PML(Q) leadership published a full page advertisement in the papers asking that had the 1970 election results been accepted by all, would Bangladesh have been created? It was a shrewd, albeit cruel, ploy to keep the opposition parties away from pre-empting the probable electoral rigging through protests. However, the league of the general has forgotten its own message. The inaugural sessions of the Provincial Assemblies have not yet been convened, which given the federal nature of the mandate seems a terrible risk. Is it that those who ruled the Islamic Republic for the last eight years are signalling us that if they do not stay in power, there would be no need for the federation itself? View Full Article »
