Retreating from its first stance of delay in the schedule of by-polls, the NWFP government Thursday asked the central government to hold by-elections before the date set in the notification issued by the Election Commission recently.
Confirming his government’s request to Election Commission, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP minister for information, told media that in order to reverse the earlier decision of holding by-polls on August 18, the federal government asked the NWFP to submit another request for holding election as per the old schedule.
The earlier request by the NWFP government to EC says, since there is law and order situation in various parts of the province, it would be better to delay the schedule of by-poll for the time being.
The second request says, the law and order situation has shown considerable improvement, though not exemplary, but we are ready to hold election if the centre and the three provinces agree to hold it earlier than the last schedule. 
It merits a mention here that announcing the two-month delay of by-election in the country, Secretary Election Commission Kanwar Dilshad portrayed the NWFP government’s insistence who had informed the EC that law and order situation in the province was not satisfactory so the by-poll schedule should be postponed for the time being. The commission cited the prevailing upcoming budget session in the national and provincial assemblies as another reason for the delay. The secretary pointed out that the decision was taken in view of the NWFP’s interior secretary’s report, in which a grim picture of law and order situation was painted.
The commission’s announcement came as a surprise for all, particularly for the government of NWFP, which has been particularly mentioned in the EC’s statement as the main party on whose request by-election, were being postponed. 
The rescheduling in the time frame led to such an uproar that NWFP’s minister for information, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, suddenly came to the rescue of his government and through press statements and different TV channels presented his version.
He disclosed to the press that Rehman Malik, an adviser to the prime minister on interior, had asked the NWFP chief minister, Amir Hyder Khan Hoti, to submit a formal request to the Election Commission for delay in by-polls on the pretext of bad law and order situation. He told the chief minister that the other three provinces also agreed that the law and order situation was not satisfactory, and they also submitted their request to EC for delay in by-poll schedule.
“Since the chief minister was told that other three provinces are also submitting request to the EC, the provincial home department was asked to submit an application,” the information minister told media. 
It was a great surprise for everyone that there was no request from any other province asking delay in the by-polls schedule as was described by Rehman Malik.
“We were also surprised to know that the EC had named only NWFP province on whose request it is delaying the schedule of by-polls. We were told that all the other three provinces are also of the same opinion for delay in the election schedule,” Mr Hussain said.
We know we were used for someone else’s benefit. We strongly condemned the deceiving attitude of Rehman Malik, who misguided the chief minister Amir Hyder Khan Hoti. He said at the time of the February 18 election the law and order in the province was not exemplary. “But we went for election. Presently, it is far better than February 18,” he asked.
Soon after the reply of the NWFP government through private TV channels and press statements through which the provincial government cleared its position, rage and fury was witnessed across the country. The political parties, social circles as well as the common man had started criticizing the government. Rehman Malik was the focal point, who according to a senior PPP leader playing his own game, made direct links with the key people in President Musharraf’s camp for future benefits if the PPP government failed to continue government. “The leadership of PPP was not taken into confidence,” he informed.
Almost every person was critical of the role of Rehman Malik and even spokesman for the PML-N Siddiqul Farooq was found saying that a criminal case should be lodged against Rehman Malik, who is suspect by all accounts.
The NWFP government had too faced the embarrassment when an anchor person of a private TV channel asked Mian Iftikhar Hussain, “if the centre asked them to withdraw from their demand of renaming the province (Pukhtunkhwa) as the other three provinces also wanted their withdrawal from the demand, would they do so”, Mian Iftikhar had no answer.
 Most of the media pundits and political leaders have blamed Rehman Malik for the twist.
“He is dancing on the tune of those, who are uneasy with the present setup and alliances made in the centre and provinces,” they add.