Media watch: Change, for better or worse

Ghazi Salahuddin, Imtiaz Alam, Cowasjee and other analysts map out the govt's lurch from one disaster to another.

Media watch is a daily round-up of key articles featured on news websites, hand-picked by The Express Tribune web staff.

Understanding change

Where has this breathless anticipation for change come from? And why is there no clarity about what this change is likely to be? Besides, what will change when the present political arrangement is somehow redesigned? Will it be more of the same or, miraculously, a new beginning of some sort? Do we just want to change our rulers or the ideas that have governed our rulers? Ghazi Salahuddin (Thenews.com.pk)

Towards the brink

What was being feared is becoming imminent — the democratic system is crumbling under its own weight, this time not at the behest of the garrison but due to a power-struggle between the executive and the judiciary. Imtiaz Alam (Dailytimes.com.pk)

Towards boiling point

The Prime Minister’s address in the Senate on Friday is ample indication of the firm attitude that his government has decided to adopt to defeat the SC’s verdict on the NRO as far as the President is concerned, though it has at last come round to taking action against all other functionaries tainted by this inglorious ordinance. It seems that the ruling set-up is all out to shield Mr Zardari and face the consequences of defying the court’s unambiguous decision in this regard. Editorial (Nation.com.pk)

Profiling politicians

In a rare expression of solidarity, Prime Minister Gilani and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan jointly lambasted those profiling politicians as corrupt. Both were particularly incensed by a recent Pildat report which maintained that the assets of the parliamentarians had increased threefold from 2002 to 2009. Editorial (Brecorder.com)

Food for worms

Now, any sort of revolution, be it along the lines of an uprising or of the national mindset (which is desperately needed) is not on the cards. Revolutions demand national cohesion, a common goal and vitally, a charismatic leadership. Pakistan is endowed with none of these attributes. Ardeshir Cowasjee  (Dawn.com)