A messy turf

It was a day of astute exigency. While Imran Khan spent his day at the IHC bogged down in litigation, the federal cabinet was reportedly contemplating to impose emergency under Article 232, in an obscure attempt to overcome political fissures. But the latter’s decision to defer it for another time is understood to have happened owing to the resistance that the proclamation will face at the Presidency. A blanket relief from the court to the PTI chief by granting bails in all of the 10 cases, including the one that led to his unlawful arrest on Tuesday by NAB, confirmed the fact that the judiciary is looking at the serene side of upheavals.

The clock, nonetheless, seems to be ticking for the government. With May 14 in sight, the coalition dispensation in power is in the spotlight of contempt of court. It had evaded the Supreme Court’s order to hold elections in Punjab. Perhaps, this is the only irritation with which the federation is mulling to clamp emergency, and get away under the cover of suspension of fundamental rights. Likewise, the relentless crackdown on the opposition as scores of PTI leaders have been taken into custody has further complicated the messy turf. Last but not least, the postponement of the National Security Committee meeting at the eleventh hour on Friday is simply consolidating the impression that the civil-military equation is dwindling.

The onus is on the PDM leadership to opt for a change of heart. Its policy of tail-teasing and victimising the opposition has not worked. Moreover, suspension of Internet services and stampede of the rupee with a new price spiral are factors that are brewing civil unrest. We have been here time and again. It is time to pause and start looking at the distant future of reconciliation. The government can smartly come out of the crisis by pursuing the constitutional path of going to elections immediately after the budget session. This is the only way out that can bring an impulsive PTI on the same page. No point in pushing the country towards anarchy on an egoistic premise.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2023.

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