February 19, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 11, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Feb 18: Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who had declared himself invincible after his six straight electoral wins, bit the dust on Monday when he was beaten roundly on both the National Assembly seats in “the mother of all elections”.

Though he did not react immediately to the humiliation at the hands of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Javed Hashmi and Hanif Abbasi, the darkness that enveloped Lal Haveli, his political citadel, spoke louder than the self-proclaimed Farzand- i-Pakistan he had elevated himself to from Farzand-i-Rawalpindi.

Sheikh Rashid was not the only Titan that the Establishment saw fall on the D-Day. Many PML-Q heads rolled on the day but the fall in the garrison city of Rawalpindi will be remembered for long for the intense emotions that the Elections 2008 aroused against the Establishment.

As the maxim goes “nothing is permanent but change”. And change was apparent from the very beginning in Rawalpindi where Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was struggling in his 7th attempt to reach the National Assembly. The signs of his defeat from both constituencies NA-55 and NA-56 were visible given the fact that his polling agents did not reach many polling stations for almost first two hours of the polling process.

Seen in the context of his symbolic position as an outspoken representative of the Establishment and a self-proclaimed spokesperson of President Musharraf until recently, the Monday’s poll results were clearly a referendum of sorts against the policies of the previous government under a belligerent president in the heart of a city known more for General Headquarters than anything else.

But most of the people were heard supporting Nawaz Sharif not only for his clear stand on restoration of judiciary but more against the faulty economic policies of the previous government, especially the price spiral, wheat and energy shortages.

If he was able to win in 2002 on the gimmick that after winning his two seats he would present them to Nawaz Sharif, the very presence of a Javed Hashmi in Rawalpindi to contest elections was sufficient to prove that PML-N was there to regain its stronghold come what may and would show no sympathy for its deserters.

Sheikh’s reception camp was deserted until 10:15am outside Muslim Higher Secondary School No.2 in Satellite Town where four polling booths for the male voters had been established. Almost similar was the situation at all the polling stations in the Satellite Town areas, including union councils-19, 20 and 34. Polling was delayed by about half-an-hour as the polling staff waited for the polling agents to arrive but as the queue started to build up outside the stations they had to start the polling.

In many areas, even the polling agents of PPP-P were absent in the early part of the day in NA-56. If reception camps were any indication, the PML-Q was clearly loosing the day in Rawalpindi.

While a supporter of PML-N candidate Hanif Abbasi claimed that Sheikh Rashid had failed even to appoint his polling agents, a supporter of PML-Q at one of the reception camps claimed he had just issued four authorisation letters to four persons to act as Sheikh’s agents at about 10am. A couple of journalists returned to the polling stations and specifically inquired anybody represented PML-Q as polling agent and there was none. It appeared if the former information and railway minister had already surrendered in NA-56.

As a doomsday scenario started developing for the ruling party, the supporters of PML-N and PPP came out on the roads at noon waving party flags. Their forays on the Murree Road made it look as the competition was between the PPP and PML-N than with PML-Q.

Dancing on the beats of Faiz’s famous poem Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge and Ab raj karegi khalqe Khuda, the supporters of PML-N and PPP exchanged victory signs and at times brought out joint rallies to indicate that they were happier in defeating the PML-Q rather than winning seats themselves.

By the time, the PML-Q supporters were virtually off the public scene.

In NA-55, Rawalpindi-VI, government boy’s high school DAV Road which is less than 500 meters from Sheikh’s Lal Haveli, Javed Hashmi bagged 512 votes against the former railway minister’s 110 votes. PPP’s Advocate Amir Fida Piracha obtained 170 votes. The situation was no different at other polling stations.