LAHORE, Oct 28: Bigamy has rarely been an enviable experience even if it is political in nature.

An overwhelming majority of bigamists have to lead unhappy lives, no matter what impression they convey to society.

There was a time when Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was regarded as the most powerful opposition leader. The reason was his ‘bigamy’. He was head of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and at the same time convener of the all-party conference.

In all, more than two dozen political parties were under his influence, though many of them existed only on paper. The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, a coalition of religious parties aligned itself with the APC as the liberal and progressive leadership of the PPP was reluctant to sit in the company of what it regarded as religious fundamentalists.

The veteran leader always looked very happy when he succeeded in bringing in parties of divergent political views across the table —- at the APCs —- on various subjects and occasions.

The declarations issued by such APCs were reflective of the political skills of the octogenarian leader as they were drafted in a manner acceptable to all participants.

The Nawabzada, who has an experience of about half a century to make parties of diametrically opposite views sit together and speak with one voice, chuckled even he was all alone at the very thought that he had isolated Gen Musharraf by distancing all political parties from him, barring the king’s party.

But now the period of bigamist Nawabzada’s honeymoon seems to be over.

The PPP, the biggest component of the ARD, is pursuing policies “incomprehensible” for the senior leader. He wants the PPP, as also other parties in the alliance, to stick to their commitments made to the electorate through various declarations issued by the ARD or from the APC’s platform.

But, the PPP has its own interests to watch.

It is for this reason that at times the PPP underlines the need for a government of national unity where parties of opposite views could join hands. PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Faheem meets PML-Q leaders and then defends his initiative, saying parties should be flexible in their attitude to facilitate the restoration of democratic process.

Contacts between the PPP and the PML-Q are simply intolerable for the Nawabzada as in them he sees departure from the alliance’s oft-repeated stand on the legitimacy of the presidency of Gen Musharraf and the constitutional amendments made by him. He feels upset on such contacts, but can’t do anything to prevent the PPP leaders from making any further contacts.

His mood undergoes a pleasant change when the Makhdoom reiterates his commitment with the ARD’s charter.

But the PPP leader’s ‘chance meeting’ with Gen Musharraf again upset the Nawabzada as any progress through such contacts are a threat to his own future as opposition leader.

Thus, his mood keeps on changing with the political moves of the PPP. He is happy when his instructions are carried out, and is angry when the PPP appears to be moving to get some relief for its leadership —- Ms Benazir Bhutto —- even at the cost of the ARD’s principles.

The same is the Nawabzada’s relationship with the APC and the MMA. His was a resplendent face when the APC, of which the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal is the major component, pledged to work for the ideals set in various declarations.

But the situation has started changing as MMA candidate for prime minister, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, indicates that the religious parties alliance may not only work with Gen Musharraf as president but also review the constitutional amendments made by him with an open mind.

In such a thinking sees the Nawabzada the burial of the APC’s principles and commitments.

The ‘political bigamist’ these days is as disappointed as he was happy before the elections when the MMA and the ARD were working according to his instructions. He is convinced that both the alliances may leave him in the lurch when they strike a deal with the military rulers. This may be the most shocking experience of the bigamist’s life as his partners are determined to prefer pragmatism to their commitments and principles.