A U-turn or a victory?

Will the SC prevail?

The Supreme Court finally decided to step in when the tussle between the ruling PMLN and the PTI took an ominous turn that could have upset the system. On Monday a confrontation between a convoy led by Chief Minister KP and Punjab police continued for hours on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway leading to the death of two PTI activists and injuries to 15. Section 144 was imposed all over Punjab and hundreds of people were arrested to preempt a possible agitation. The intervention by the court brought an end to the miseries of those living in the twin cities where Metrobus service had remained suspended since Thursday and most of the roads in Rawalpindi and Islamabad were blocked with containers and concrete barrier followed by the closure all private schools.

That the situation took such an ugly turn goes to the discredit of both the government and the PTI. Had the government reached an agreement with the opposition in the parliamentary committee on ToRs the matter would have been settled six months back. What is more this would have strengthened Parliament’s authority. The government however obstinately refused to agree on any ToRs which gave primacy to a probe into the financial affairs of Nawaz Sharf’s scions

The PTI which had worked up its activists to a feverish pitch on the issue of closing Islamabad will find it difficult to calm them down. For Imran Khan who had vowed to challenge the IHC order to hold the protest at the ‘Democracy Park and Speech Corner’ and reiterated the determination to lock down the city again and again, it is a big come down to hold a ‘thanksgiving rally’ at the same venue when crucial issue of the ToRs still remains unsettled. It would be really embarrassing for allies like Sheikh Rashid who wanted chaos in the country. While the PMLN and PTI leaders give the decision a spin of their liking, they need to realise that the issues of national importance should better be settled in Parliament than through external intervention.