Yet another wait

If Ashraf follows Gilani’s lead and refuses to write letter, he too could be rendered ineligible from office.

When the Supreme Court disqualified Yousaf Raza Gilani from parliament for being guilty of contempt, they set a precedent that could throw the country into grave turmoil. Now that it has been determined that refusing to write a letter to the Swiss authorities is grounds for removal from office, every subsequent prime minister will have to be held to the same standard. The Supreme Court has set the deadline of July 12 for Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to implement its orders in the National Reconciliation Ordinance case. If Ashraf, as is likely, follows Gilani’s lead and refuses to write the letter, he too, could be rendered ineligible from office. In fact, there is no limit to the number of prime ministers who could be disqualified on the same grounds. If things continue in this vein, thanks to the Supreme Court’s intransigence, we could end up with a situation where Pakistan has a new prime minister every month.

The effects of such uncertainty would be disastrous for our country and we simply cannot afford to go through such chaos. No foreign leader would be willing to negotiate with a government that it knows could be dismissed any day and international lending institutions would be wary of doing business with a country so unstable. Pakistan has often been called a failed state or a banana republic. If the current state of affairs continues to prevail, it will ensure that Pakistan indeed does become the laughing stock of the world.

So unthinkable is such a situation that something will have to give. Either the PPP decides, for the sake of stability in the country, to finally write the letter to the Swiss authorities or the Supreme Court feels that it has punished the party enough and allows the prime minister to stay in office. The problem is that both sides seem to have boxed themselves so deeply into their respective positions that they will feel as if they have lost face if they decide to compromise. Soon their beliefs will be put to the ultimate test. Are they both going to be so stubborn enough to not care about the damage being wreaked on the country or are they willing to look beyond their narrow interests? We will have an answer by July 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2012.