It's game on for Politicians

In the wake of Maulana Fazlur Rehman's 'dharna' in the Capital early this month, followed by countrywide road-blockades, an eerie sense of political uncertainty has begun permeating the national corridors. Up his sleeves he has one more plan, and says he wouldn't give up until Prime Minister resigns or is ousted from power. And quite a few other day-to-day political developments add to that sense of uncertainty. Is he honest about what he claims or is he in a 'deal' with the government as suggested and then denied by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi? These questions have no easy answers. The chaudhry from Gujrat may sound machinate, his cousin Shujaat Hussain should not. According to the elder chaudhry, some advisers of the prime minister are not giving the "right advice" when they urge the latter to use force to prove the writ of the government. In fact, some recent statements by the chaudhrys and remarks by the PTI's ruling partner MQM(P) do hint at the existence of 'game on!'. With PML(Q) having only five seats and MQM(P) seven in the National Assembly they may appear to be of little weight, but they are not because without their support Imran Khan wouldn't be the prime minister.

With that serving as backdrop, the contentious play-out of Nawaz Sharif's health saga tends to thicken the mystery as to why such an amalgam of double-speak and where would it go from here. Having failed to extract the Rs 7 billion indemnity bond commitment from the Sharif brothers how come the PM's accountability aide claims the court "reinforced" the stance of the government. But no less tougher is the time-bound undertaking the court has extracted from the Sharif brothers - in that he would return home after his treatment. The maulana's 'dharna' and the PTI-coalition partners' baffling signals are good enough to give glue to our political lot's power-ridden mindset. But if not then what happened in parliament over the weekend should - the house consented to de-legislate 11 Ordinances it had passed in return for Opposition's withdrawal of its no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker. Imagine the existential challenges confronting the country and the political parties' myopic response to them. It is about such ambience the Chinese may say 'May you live in interesting times'.

Yes, these are interesting times in Pakistan, but in a different way. That Maulana Fazlur Rehman's 'Azadi March' has failed to force prime minister Imran Khan to resign is a fact. His road-blockades have also resulted in little success for him. The residents of Mansehra, for example, forcefully recovered the part of road barricaded by the JUI(F) workers. General public reaction to the maulana's 'Plan-B' stratagem elsewhere in the country may not be as effective as in Mansehra, but nowhere is it being welcomed. As for the Chaudhrys' politics, that is too enigmatic to be easily paraphrased. And, as for Prime Minister Imran Khan's durability, he is there unless he crumbles under his own weight. Thanks to the emerging political scenario - which is nothing but a grim battle for political power - the vox populi can see through the game. Even when we may not buy the official line the situation gives a broad hint that country's economy is moving in the right direction with markets are recovering before economy. Stock market's performance in recent days and weeks is a strong case in point. And, as for political scenario, the opposition may remain merciless, but quite a bit of angry flak the government gets is of its own making. Instead of being focused on their portfolios, some of the ministers and PM aides literally beg for negative comment from across the aisle in the house or outside on public platform. Today, Pakistan is in dire straits; it needs national unity and intelligent handling of challenges it is confronted with.