But what was a welcome departure from all the mudslinging that has characterised the campaigning was the mature response of politicians -- across the political spectrum -- to Mr Khan's plight. For instance, Mr Khan and
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
had been at each other's throats even before the campaigns began. With the approach of election day, the vitriol had scaled new heights. However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
on Tuesday, the PML-N chief announced the cancellation of all campaign activity for Wednesday. Mr Sharif had expressed similar solidarity with the Bhutto family on the liquidation of Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
that had resulted in the postponement of polls by several weeks. Apart from Mr Sharif, messages of sympathy for the PTI leader poured in from other party heads and politicians. They ranged from political foes including Altaf Hussain and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's former prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics could be awe-inspiring ...
to friends such as
Syed Munawar Hassan... The funny-looking leader-for-life of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. He joined the National Students Federation (NSF), a lefty student body, and was elected its President in 1959. He came into contact with the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and studied the writings of Mawlana Syed Abul Ala Maududi,
The Great Apostasizer.As a result, he joined IJT in 1960 and soon he was elected as President of its University of Karachi Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistain in 1992-93, and became Secretary General in 1993. After years of holding Qazi's camel he was named Amir when the old man stepped down in 2009...
and Maulana Samiul Haq
...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, not to speak of
Pervez PervMusharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
. The MQM and the Jamaat-e-Islami
...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
announced a halt to campaigning for a day, and
President Asif Ali Ten PercentZardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
, who is frequently criticised by the PTI, sent him a bouquet. Equally heartening was Mr Khan's own attitude as he spoke from his hospital bed, urging the people to cast their vote on May 11.
This maturity has been welcomed by a nation that often views its representatives with cynicism. However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
one niggling thought remains. Why have many of the leaders moved by Tuesday's dreadful spectacle not shown the same sympathy for those killed and maimed in the election rallies bombed by the TTP? Were these victims and their grieving relatives lesser human beings undeserving of solace because they belonged to the 'wrong' political parties?