THERE are still no signs of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the new star who was to shine on Pakistan’s political horizon. Reports say he is going to give this election a miss, a decision which leaves the PPP to fend for itself, without a leader at the helm. It is not difficult to sympathise with the young man given the predicament he is in. Undoubtedly, for some politicians right now, campaigning during these elections is synonymous with putting their lives on the line. It was pretty much the same point which clinched the issue in favour of the presidency when, in the past, various minds debated among themselves which office Mr Asif Ali Zardari should keep: the party’s or the president’s? The argument was that someone who is at high risk when he is in public is best left alone in the President House. Similarly, reservations were expressed when the Bhutto scion was being thrust into the PPP’s top slot. But that was then. A coronation has since taken place and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as PPP chief should be leading the party. That he has not done so should be an issue of considerable concern to the party and its supporters.

Unfortunately, for the party, no politician of stature appears ready to lead the poll campaign. These include the two former prime ministers, one of whom is campaigning for himself, the other for his family. It is ironic that a party that has governed the country four times should be seeing such a crisis of leadership. Other parties, like the ANP, too have been warned against electioneering but they are trying to stay in the race by making brave, if selective, appearances. True, given the scale of violence in the run-up to the polls, those who are staying away can hardly be advised to throw all caution to the winds and take the plunge. But when the democratic project itself is endangered, surely a more courageous stance from those who believe in it can be expected.