In what should have been a moment of sober introspection after a turbulent parliamentary year, President Asif Zardari’s address to a joint session of the legislature was overrun by partisan theatrics. Instead of delivering a piercing review of our nation’s challenges, the hallowed halls of parliament were besieged by clashing slogans and placards-a calculated disruption by PTI elements. The chaos was so overwhelming that the president was forced to don headphones just to make his voice heard. Amid this pandemonium, Zardari’s stern admonition against unilateral decision-making-especially the reckless push to exploit the Indus River without proper consultation-should have resonated as a clarion call to the ruling coalition. His critique transcended mere policy minutiae; it was an uncompromising rebuke of a government fraying at the seams along party lines. The widening rift between coalition partners, notably between PML-N and PPP, exposes a deep-seated dysfunction in our political culture-one where every electoral cycle is marred by endless allegations of fraud and internal discord, leaving the nation’s most vulnerable to suffer the fallout of economic mismanagement. Moreover, discontent among PPP leaders in Punjab has long been simmering, as they decry what they perceive as PML-N’s flagrant indifference toward pressing national issues. This relentless spectacle of discord is hardly new. It echoes past administrations where theatrical blame-shifting and in-fighting stifled meaningful reform. Not long ago, President Arif Alvi had stood at the same podium to brave similar allegations. When earnest calls for transparency and cohesive governance are smothered by relentless posturing, one must ask: who, if anyone, is prepared to lead us out of this deepening crisis? In an era of soaring inflation and rampant unemployment, the imperative for unity and decisive leadership remains drowned out by the cacophony of political bickering, leaving the people to wonder when this cycle of chaos will finally end. *