The mixed signals regarding the clarion call for elections could not be more baffling. On one hand, we see an invigorated opposition flapping its wings in anticipation of a determined poll campaign. Former prime minister Imran Khan has unveiled plans to formally launch a rally to Data Darbar in yet another bid to remind the masses of his manifesto. In light of the Supreme Court judgement in the delay case, the Election Commission of Pakistan has also decided to seek District Returning Officers and Returning Officers from the high courts of two provinces. The schedule for the Punjab Assembly polls is also in the offing.
Quite interestingly, cracks also appear in the ruling coalition as they stand on different parts of the spectrum. Ex-president Asif Ali Zardari is the latest to voice reservations with the federal government in a hard-hitting enunciation: his party–the PPP may be “part of the government” but not a member of the PDM alliance. In the meanwhile, the same-old delaying tricks appear to have been spotlighted on the PML-N’s whiteboard as its minister continues to make contradicting statements.
With Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal still mulling over general elections because of the “burden on national kitty” and others like Mian Javed Latif noting how only Nawaz Sharif’s arrival would take Pakistan out of this turmoil, the government appears busy knocking on every door for any sign of relief. Options are being said to include parliamentary resolutions and requests before the ECP. If, by some miracle, these deliberations actually deliver, what message would the state be ready to give with regard to constitutional supremacy when the president himself has already announced the date for elections in Punjab?
No matter what the PML-N may fear about its own performance in the provincial elections under the current economic situation, it cannot singlehandedly twist the arm of constitutional guidelines and the higher judiciary. At the end of the day, it remains a provisional setup whose sole obligation to the people remains making arrangements for an exchange of power. It is high time the government realises the ball lying idly in its court. *
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