Delayed polls.

AMONG the many disappointments of this past week has been Sikandar Sultan Raja's meek surrender of his constitutional office to elements who clearly wished to see the democratic process in the country suspended. There were many who had continued to believe he would remain committed to a higher standard of conduct. They would have been most disappointed that the chief election commissioner has seemingly become party to a perverse project to subvert the Constitution. By caving to the security establishment and government pressure to postpone elections well beyond what the law stipulates, Mr Raja has imperilled his legacy. Considering the ramifications of his biggest decision in recent months - unilaterally postponing the Punjab polls after a date had already been announced - there are genuine concerns regarding the ECP's ability to hold any elections in a free and fair environment.

It is impossible to view the decision with any charity. It is nothing less than a tragic betrayal of the people by the ECP, the present government and each department of state that has refused to facilitate the electoral exercise. The excuse presented to the country as the delay was being announced was as flimsy as what we had first heard when it became apparent that those in power were not interested in holding polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on time. 'Pakistan is not safe enough to hold an electoral exercise', the ECP repeated on Wednesday night; 'no one is available to...