The government’s tribulations
It is three fronts that the government faces today. First, the military, whose sabre-rattling, never too subtle at the best of times, reached a new high with the ISPR press release that warned the prime minister of “grievous consequences for the nation.” Second, the courts, whose incessant pursuit of the government – and, seemingly, the government alone – has reached a crescendo of its own; not only is there the NRO case – where the supreme court, exasperated by government inaction, spelled out the six options it would consider, each as unpalatable as the other – but there is also the memo case, which contains within it the ingredients of some serious discord. Third, there is the political opposition, ever ready to pounce on anything they can find.
The first front contains the threat of an all too familiar script, one that has played itself out four times through the course of our history and all four times (except, perhaps, the first) it had been ruled out by analysts on the argument that coups were a thing of the past. The second front contains the threat of an institution, having flexed its newly found muscles, deciding now to swing one for the fences. And the third front contains the threat of conflagrated protests. And then there is the snafu of a hybrid, where one provides the muscle, the other takes care of the whole de jure thing and the third takes care of the streets.
So far, the government has navigated these choppy waters well. Most adept it has been with the opposition, which it has played like a violin. Second, the judiciary, whose directives it has responded to in the past with a “go slow” that even the mightiest of labour unions would not have managed. And third, the military, which it has tried to kill with kindness, first by giving key extensions and second, by letting Abbottabad slide over completely.
In the current impasse with the judiciary, the government has finally given signs of softening up on the issue of writing the letter to the Swiss authorities. Not only is this a wise move, it is also the correct move; whatever one might make of the court’s motives, it is still the free court and any refusal to comply with its directives would be contemptuous.
The government seems to be trying to mend fences with the army by placing the blame for the misunderstanding on the defence secretary. Furthermore, the premier said the army chief had taken him into confidence about the ISPR press release before its publication.
Lastly, with the opposition, it is going to take them into confidence in parliament. If it fails to make them or the more wily members of the coalition see reason, it would try to set them off against each other, if at all; the real baptism of fire in our unfortunate republic is the first two fronts.
