When the Chief Justice of Pakistan with a consensus decision of the President and the Chief Election Commissioner announced Feb 8 as the election date, many doubted if these would be held on the same date. A newspaper headline, “SC sets election date in stone”, referred to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and should have left no doubt about the election date.

Almost all political parties are staging their shows as a mark of election campaigns in various cities. And all of them promise to do whatever is possible in the public interest – providing jobs, assuring health and education but cleverly bypassing an important plan – population control. A few days before the election is precisely the time when politicians are seen among their electorates, intermixing with them and assuring them to spare no effort to promote their followers’ welfare.

However, there’s a sure-fire test for the leaders of the main political parties, such as PTI’s Imran Niazi, PMLN’s Mian Nawaz Sharif, and PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his politically shrewd dad Asif Zardari. The political parties headed by these men had the opportunity to form governments and show their performance. They must be asked to speak earnestly........

© Daily Times