Finally, Shahbaz Sharif has interrupted his elder brother’s speech, indicating that the PML-N is indeed losing its way and that it had indeed allowed the PPP to indulge in its strange governance (or more accurately lack of governance), so that Pakistan faces its most dangerous crisis. The myth of a soft opposition has been exposed; it is an opposition that has allowed the PPP to commit three years of unbridled and shameless corruption. Even the Supreme Court (SC) has not managed to curb it, even with all its suo motu actions to rein in misgovernance at the federal and provincial levels. The huge number of people that have been reinstated with no thought to the effect this will have on the viability of those projects is truly amazing. The pathetic performance by the MD of PIA is but one of the blunders that was aborted by the action of a few brave men. Instead of utilising their existing routes and increasing the traffic on those routes, getting the route managers to improve their own performances could have increased their yields. There are some very competent marketing men in Pakistan. It is these men who can have turn PIA around. To shut down stations is the easiest option for an airline. It is more difficult, but much more desirable, for PIA to become economically viable. This is difficult but not impossible. We need sensible and strong executives who can withstand interference from the government and politicians. The politicians first set about cutting the civil service down to size and, simultaneously, the judiciary was also hobbled. This gave our politicians a clear run at power with no repercussions. These power plays have now been finely tuned so that President Zardari is in complete command, where even such a large, free press cannot cause a ripple in his path. The business community has retired into its shell, convinced that there will be a reckoning, which does not appear to be nearby. The latest news that Justice Ramday has been sidelined shows how Zardari’s men have succeeded in keeping the dreaded NRO as being nothing more than just a threat. With all the thunder and lightning surrounding the NRO, Zardari’s men are still in power and are showing everyone that they can continue their reign. Now, with trouble brewing in the region, it is likely that the young people will rise up against corruption without waiting for a long protracted legal battle with no judgement in sight. It is strange that in a country as large as Pakistan, the people do not realise that corruption is the biggest enemy of the state. The effect of corruption is finally sinking in and industry is shutting down with over 50 percent in Karachi shut down already, further compounding our unemployment. None of these very serious issues is being addressed by the Zardari government, which is busy fending off threats to its choice officers and finding ways to place them in more profitable positions. The Raymond Davis affair is getting murkier by the moment. It is obvious that our ally, the US, is playing its own games and by its own rules. Davis gunned down, in broad daylight, two Pakistanis on motorcycles. When he was arrested he pleaded diplomatic immunity. Nowhere in the world does a government agent have the license to kill (James Bond was a character of fiction); not even the Israelis would allow their operatives the immunity that is being sought here. The US government, all the way up to President Obama, is insisting that he enjoys diplomatic immunity. Does that give him the right to commit cold-blooded murder? The man must be insane to think that he could, ‘unprovoked’, kill two Pakistani nationals in his host country and walk free. We may be a vassal state but Davis has obviously seen too many Rambo films. Either he is psychotic or has gone over the edge. What is not understandable is that Secretary of State Clinton has also gotten into the act along with President Obama, a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Law School, and is threatening Pakistan with further sanctions and dire consequences. This rhetoric has not been heard since Khrushchev laid it on Nixon. Surely Obama should have thought through the facts as a student of law before unleashing such threats. Possibly, somebody in the CIA panicked. But, undeniably, Mr Davis is not the embassy plumber. To commit an act with such precision, coolly take photographs and then drive off is no ordinary matter. This man was an expert. How did the state department and the presidency threaten us with everything, short of the seventh fleet? This raises the question: who is Mr Davis? How can the US government offer such a level of support up to and including the US president? Has the US been given assurances from Pakistanis over and above the norm? Other rumours link Davis to the Benazir assassination. These versions are making Davis a very important addition to our conspiracy bank .The most important aspect of the last few weeks indicates that the Americans have been less than truthful with us. I am sure the relevant quarters have already taken note and have prepared accordingly. The writer is a freelance columnist