LET’S not pay any heed to the cynics who insinuate that this might have been done under pressure. There are no such signs so far and none are feared. The decision appears to have been taken voluntarily and it makes quite a lot of sense. Never shy of setting examples, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has dissolved his Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Pakistan and allowed the transfer of his political assets, the TTP workers, to other political parties. He has not explained his reasons for the quick wind-up in detail but one news report says “he did not want to create any additional hurdles for the ruling government now that they had been elected”. This is a generous gesture that must beget a befitting response from other political players, particularly those in power: They may feign ignorance of him but actually they are lucky to have a challenger who understands just how important it is that they deliver.

The dissolution is a principled decision most would find unnecessary. Indeed, there are many political parties in the country that are barely visible, yet their patrons are too proud to disband. Dr Khan would have joined this egotistic group had he given too much importance to all those who saw a ‘saviour’ in his person who had to be routed through his party. His may have been a sizeable enough party, fielding more than 100 candidates in the last general elections but as a scientist he must have known the experiment was taking him nowhere. Recently, there were news statements in which he showed his willingness to accept a nomination to the presidency and all Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif needed was to send him an invitation. Dr Khan can always do it by himself provided there are enough people wanting to use his services.