All Parties Committee to Discuss Pakistani Elections

The government has decided to host an all party committee meeting to discuss how the upcoming elections should be held. I would wager that they are wanting postponement, and to give PPP some grace to put forth a new candidate for Prime Minister.

Above and beyond that one attendee at the discussion stated that it regardless of the problems in the wake of Benazir’s assasination that it would be impossible to call emergency rule again. This is a wise choice, it would be the exact thing that Al Qaeda was trying to provoke. From Dawn:

ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The government has decided not to re-impose emergency in the country and instead call an All Parties Conference (APC) to decide about the elections, scheduled to be held on Jan 8, sources told Dawn on Thursday.

They said the decision in this respect was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by President Pervez Musharraf. Sources said the president has asked Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro to immediately hold an APC to seek the consent of all political parties in the country on the issue.

It was decided in the meeting that whatever the decision would be taken by the APC about the elections would be welcomed by the government.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz who also attended the meeting gave detail about the decision taken in it, saying there was no possibility to again impose emergency in the country. “Despite severe reaction of the people on the sad demise of Benazir Bhutto there is no possibility of imposition of emergency again in the country,” he added.

Asked whether the option of postponement of election was discussed in the meeting, he said, it was not come under discussion.

For several reasons the party leaders and stalwarts of the Pakistani People’s Party need to get the party and their people under control. While it is a terrible event, the longer the rage and frustration runs the more property and infrastructure gets destroyed. It is like an earthquake made of angry people, and it must subside.

If it does not the rest of Pakistan will judge that the PPP is out of control, and perhaps not fit to govern. The leaders must regain charge, get a message out to stop the violence, burning, and looting.

The Election Commission will also be meeting Monday to see what steps are next, the PPP needs to come up with a plan, they can’t do that if everyone is still raging.

From Malaysia Sun:

Islamabad, Dec 29 : The Election Commission (EC) of Pakistan is convening an emergency meeting on Monday, suggesting the possibility of the January 8 parliamentary elections being postponed.

According to a report, the prevailing law and order situation has prevented the EC from sending poll materials across the country.

The law and order situation has worsened following the assassination of Benazir Bhutoo in Rawalpinidi. Supporters of Bhutto have gone a violent rampage across the country since her death on Thursday.

Eight offices of the EC were burnt in Sindh Province and all election materials was destroyed, The News reported.