It never rains but it pours
Nawaz Sharif faces two challenges. The one is from the opposition; the other (which Is even graver) emanates from bad governance.
What worries the government most is the PTI’s call for shutting down Islamabad on October 30. What should provide the PML-N leadership a modicum of solace is that heavens did not fall as a result of the march on Raiwind. Collecting a sufficiently big crowd once again within a month will put no small burden on PTI’s ATMs. Calling activists from other provinces again and again to bolster political agitation in Punjab would cause exhaustion among them. What is more, the shutting down of Islamabad will have to be done by the PTI alone as there is little chance of the opposition parties joining the move. Even Tahirul Qadri’s PAT may not be available this time. With the government determined to stop the protesters from blocking the Red Zone, Imran Khan might create problems for the common man without disturbing the working of the federal government’s offices. Like the march on Raiwind, the agitation in Islamabad may not bring any concrete gain.
The real challenge to Nawaz Sharif will emerge from governance. Sharif continues to rely on a very restricted coterie of advisors thus weakening democratic institutions. Three years in power and the PML-N government still has no Foreign Minister. The constitutional requirement to convene CCI meetings at least once in three months continues to be ignored with the result that PML-N government’s differences with smaller provinces over issues that include CPEC and Census continue to sharpen. The economic governance is in a worse shape Energy sector in general and power sector in particular remain the government’s most vulnerable point. Both agriculture and industry suffer due to lack of cheap and reliable power. This has led to the drop in the FDIs, lowered agricultural and industrial output, caused slippage in exports and a slow growth rate, thus affecting the common man’s livelihood
