What’s up?

Ever since coming into power, the PML-N government has had to fight for survival. From the destabilising protests by Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan in 2014 to the Panama Papers saga involving long marches and trials, an air of uncertainty has lingered over the political setup. Along the way, a series of surreal events has clouded the picture. We have had leaks in the media and revelations from politicians, and court cases which are anything but non-controversial, leading up to the disqualification of a sitting prime minister. The Sharif family is currently in the midst of a criminal trial, the opposition parties are joining hands with Tahirul Qadri and legislative activity has ground to a halt. Even by these standards, the current atmosphere is more ominous than usual. We have lately witnessed the free rein enjoyed by the sudden arrival known as Khadim Rizvi.

Strange new alliances appear to be springing up and there is now the by-now-old but ever-new drama involving the MQM and the various splinter groups that emerged from within it. The PTI and the Pak Sarzameen Party have met in Karachi and formed an alliance. We already have a long and unfortunate history of attempts to dislodge governments, and with Tahirul Qadri back in the country speculations are bound to float around. The Muttahidda Majlis-e-Amal has been formally re-launched and the PPP and PAT are holding their own discussions. There is the possibility of yet another ‘dharna’ on the horizon. And now, the normally low-key National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has added to this mood of precariousness by saying he is concerned the assemblies won’t be able to complete their term and he feels there is a “greater plan” in the air. The government hasn’t been able to pass the vital constitutional package to allow the next elections to be held on time on the basis of the new census, thanks to the intransigence of the PPP in the Senate. In the National Assembly, the PML-N has withdrawn the Fata reforms to shore up the support of those it has to see as allies, leading to five days of opposition protests. This has led to a feeling among some analysts that the status quo may not hold for long, which is another way of saying that The Status Quo will win.

The D-Day for whether the government will see out its term will be in March, when the Senate elections are scheduled to be held. Should they proceed on time, the PML-N will have a majority in both houses of parliament. The perception is that it is something anti-democratic forces may want to prevent. And we have both old and new, and by now quite familiar, faces -- of politicians, media-persons,commentators and intellectuals and technocrats – slobbering publicly and shamelessly over the prospect of yet another elected government meeting the fate they think such governments deserve. Supposing all this is going the way they see as ideal, we all know the rest of the story by heart and, therefore, it is essential that the government and the present assemblies see out their term and hold elections on time. We have suffered enough such interruptions to know the long-term damage all this causes to the country and its politics. Trysts with dictatorships or other non-democratic forms of government have not served us well. The onus should now be on the politicians to demonstrate their commitment to the timely holding of elections. The PPP, which has always boasted of being the true guardian of democracy, should help pass the constitutional amendment. We do not yet know if Ayaz Sadiq’s fears are overblown but what is obvious is that our leaders are once again failing to recognise that their collective future lies in ensuring the system is able to operate within constitutional boundaries.