On Wednesday, the supreme court finally decided that enough had been enough and the ugly feud between the government and the opposition better come to an end. After giving ample time to the leadership on both sides of the divide to knock their heads together and step forward with a viable solution out of the crippling abyss, the gavel roared: hold elections within 90 days. The 3-2 verdict in Room No 1 of the apex court called on the Election Commission of Pakistan to be “proactively” available for consultations with the presidency (for Punjab Assembly) and the governor (for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly). No ifs and no buts, reads the writing on the wall, but the government officials are still willing to take a chance on their cards. Most prominent amongst the dissent is the voice of Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who categorically rejected the incidence of suo moto notice, claiming that the petition had already been dismissed by 4-3. While even a cursory glance at the court proceedings provides enough credence to the formation of a new bench in the name of streamlining the process under the guidance of Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial, dire implications of the judiciary being dragged through the mud just because stakes are high for politics cannot be made light of. From questions of judicial propriety to the deliberate exclusion of senior judges to political actors feeling no hesitation in pointing their guns at the higher judiciary and blasting off: there is a lot that needs to be addressed here. Justice Bandial could not be more spot-on when he declared that as custodians, “We cannot abandon the Constitution, and we cannot override the Constitution.” However, historic verdicts tend to attract a lot of bad press in the name of trivialities. Caution and restraint remain the key here. From the looks of it, the federal government is in no mood to abide by the order and therefore, law and only law should be used to put the record straight. No matter how irresistible the urge to fight fire with fire may be, the constitution alone can hold the leading light. *