A lot can change in a day. Only a news cycle after developments in both government and opposition camps indicated a slight thaw in the frosty relations, heated remarks about the march on the citadel to send the “pharaoh” home implied the fight was still on. However, it would be a grave injustice to grill just one side for the blaring of war trumpets. While everyone that matters loves to urge others to realise Pakistan is swerving towards the edge of the precipice, a discomforting silence takes over when asked what they would sacrifice for the sake of their motherland. Any serious attempt to bring some order to the chaos is brutally sidelined by those who devour playing with political fires. That Jamaat-e-Islami’s Siraj ul Haq reminded all actors that a clash among politicians has always paved the way for dictatorships might have cued Zaman Park and Model Town to put a little thought into the peacekeeping exercise. But if the ruling PML(N) was as sincere in building goodwill as it likes its voters to believe, it should have asked fiery Rana Sanaullah to weigh the consequences of an ill-worded banter. Imran Khan or no Imran Khan, no opposition would be willing to sit at a deliberations table without any legs. In the past year or so, many sensible voices have attempted to advocate the futility of these street fights and implored all sides to think about the masses. But some, like PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan and Sardar Latif Khosa, were shown the door and others, like PML(N)’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, were forced to take a back seat. The toll of this unrelenting hugger-mugger on the fragile treasury and increasingly diminished presence in the international arena continues to languish in some dusty corner, far away from the political radar. Whether the government likes it or not, it is always up to the ruling party to extend olive branches to political opponents. This sincerity in prioritising solutions instead of harping on and on about whatsoever that went wrong in the past is nowhere to be found in Islamabad. As for the Pakistanis whose voices and votes allow these characters to enjoy the limelight, there is no telling what unprecedented economic upheaval awaits them. Like always, they are nothing but silent spectators to their own lives. *