Call for early election

Pakistan Muslim League (N) chief Nawaz Sharif has called for early elections - a call not entirely new but quite the opposite for its timing. "Wisdom demands that the PPP seek a fresh mandate because it is the only way to wriggle out from the morass they find themselves in," he said at a media encounter in Karachi on Tuesday. He said that caught in similar situation, he had called for general election in 1993. On the face of it, the Pakistan People's Party is expected to reject his call for a fresh mandate, its rejection stemming as much from his oft-repeated 'go-Zardari-go' chant as from Prime Minister Gilani's obdurate insistence on completing his term of five years. It is increasingly being said that in the life of the common man the elected representatives have miserably failed to deliver. Though there is a lot of anti-government propaganda but a simple reading of the State Bank of Pakistan's annual report released recently is enough to realise the rot that we are sinking in. Almost all the indices that help gauge the state of our economy show precipitous declines, suggesting in no less clear terms that the economy of Pakistan continues to be in deep trouble. Of course, the argument stands that in certain sectors, like energy, the failure can be attributed to the previous administration. But the man in the street says: "What did you do in the last four years to rectify those mistakes?" Or, hear the minister for petroleum, who is in no position to offer even a whiff of hope that the energy situation is going to be a better anytime soon. As winter deepens, the entire length and breadth of upper Pakistan is going to be battleground with protestors taking to the streets and paralysing life. How effectively gas-consumers of Rawalpindi blocked access to Benazir International Airport for several hours is just an introduction to the chapter of public wrath that is building up, accelerated as it is by the monumental shortfalls in all the sectors that directly impact the people. How long a dysfunctional government can last, that's what Nawaz Sharif is hammering in. Of course, the PPP's principal nemesis that the PML (N) is, it is not expected to offer this advice for free; it shares with the PPP the concerns that the rising tempo of Imran Khan's self-proclaimed tsunami poses to the status quo political leadership. Hordes of political leaders, particularly from the PML (Q), including quite a few electables are joining the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), putting across the national political spectrum a clearly viable option. Then, there is this Diffa-i-Pakistan Council that ups the ante of 'threat' to the democratic forces - a proposition if figured out in the backdrop of the ongoing institutional friction over a host of issues tends to acquire tenability. May be the outcome of snap elections may not sit well with the PPP's aspirations. But things have arrived at the cusp and the PPP leadership has to choose between a conceivable extra-constitutional outcome of the ongoing political crisis, or snap elections, and thus help continuity of the democratic process. Nawaz Sharif is for the former and wants the PPP to do the same. No doubt that the next government would not be able to overcome the multifaceted crisis on the spot but it would certainly get people's acquiescence for some more time. Does the government agree with the PML (N) chief's suggestion? Only time will tell. Copyright Business Recorder, 2011