AGL 37.94 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 161.70 Increased By ▲ 6.48 (4.17%)
BOP 8.96 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.21%)
CNERGY 6.85 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.93%)
DCL 10.05 Increased By ▲ 0.52 (5.46%)
DFML 40.40 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.22%)
DGKC 91.66 Decreased By ▼ -1.29 (-1.39%)
FCCL 38.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-0.76%)
FFBL 78.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.17%)
FFL 13.47 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.96%)
HUBC 113.50 Increased By ▲ 3.31 (3%)
HUMNL 14.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-2.22%)
KEL 5.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.57%)
KOSM 8.19 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-3.31%)
MLCF 44.85 Decreased By ▼ -0.81 (-1.77%)
NBP 74.98 Decreased By ▼ -1.19 (-1.56%)
OGDC 192.20 Increased By ▲ 0.33 (0.17%)
PAEL 31.90 Increased By ▲ 1.42 (4.66%)
PIBTL 8.38 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (2.7%)
PPL 166.99 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (0.26%)
PRL 31.43 Increased By ▲ 1.99 (6.76%)
PTC 22.08 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (10.01%)
SEARL 97.69 Increased By ▲ 1.07 (1.11%)
TELE 8.50 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (2.78%)
TOMCL 34.40 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.41%)
TPLP 11.10 Increased By ▲ 0.88 (8.61%)
TREET 18.02 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (2.04%)
TRG 61.27 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.03%)
UNITY 32.35 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (1.19%)
WTL 1.53 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (4.08%)
BR100 11,239 Increased By 23.4 (0.21%)
BR30 33,901 Increased By 250.2 (0.74%)
KSE100 104,750 Increased By 191.3 (0.18%)
KSE30 32,404 Increased By 38.5 (0.12%)

This is apropos a Business Recorder news item ‘PDM govt tries to size up post-IK situation’ carried by the newspaper yesterday. According to it, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has held talks with PPP’s Asif Zardari, PML-Q’s Chaudhry Shujaat and others in order to take stock of the political situation obtaining after PTI chief’s announcement that he would be dissolving Punjab and KPK assemblies on December 23, 2022.

Given that it’s no ordinary development, the government is required to act proactively in order to deal with the current situation on a confident note. Warding off Imran Khan’s Dec 23 challenge is not easy at all; the government will now find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to continue its rule till August next year. Even if the government is able to overcome this challenge it won’t be able to bring about much-needed political stability upon which country’s economic prospects are dependent.

It will require the government to successfully wean Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi away from Imran’s game-plan. Unfortunately, the incumbent Punjab chief minister is rightly or wrongly described by his opponents as a politician who does not have a feeling that prevents him from doing something that he thinks is morally wrong or makes him uncertain about doing it. The Punjab chief minister is PDM government’s first option. Interestingly, he’s PDM government’s last option as well.

Saleem Raza (Lahore)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Comments

Comments are closed.