A bit of anxiety in the rank and file of PML-N is all but natural considering that their leadership has been far removed from the country’s main theatre of politics for quite a while now; and there’s no telling really what they are thinking or just when they can be expected back. When the courts granted relief to party old-timers and senior leaders, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal, it was believed that party workers would finally have a flag to rally around, especially since the family leaders that are not away, Hamza and Maryam, are either incarcerated or silent. Instead, the more disgruntled of Punjab’s MPAs chose just this time to have a chit chat with Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. Actions definitely speak louder than words in the power corridors of Punjab; and now everybody, not the least the press, is interpreting these latest events as yet another nail in PML-N’s coffin. Understandably, party workers have been upset ever since the leadership decided to take a U-turn on its anti-establishment politics, which had been in place for a good couple of years now, and back the bit about the army chief’s extension. That, as people are seeing it, got Nawaz more than a small breather, which is why the party’s leader for life is recuperating in London rather than Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail. But that was the last they heard from their leaders and, quite naturally, a fair amount of speculation continues to fill the void. Yet this is not the first the that the Sharifs have suddenly bolted, without really taking even long time party loyalists on board, and then there have been forward blocks, the party chipping away, and all that. Nor has such behaviour been traditionally restricted to the House of Sharifs. Just as recently as Gen Musharraf’s long stay at the top, PML-N as well as PPP leaders were in one sort of exile or another. A good number of their members, eager to make hay while the sun was shining, joined the ruling party. But such is the peculiar nature of Pakistani politics, or perhaps has been till now, that both parties still got their turn in ruling the country one more time. Granted, PML-N does not look too imposing in its present state. And not only should Nawaz return and honour his agreement with the judiciary as well as the government, younger brother Shahbaz should also come back; not just for his party but also because he’s the leader of the opposition in the House. However, it is perhaps a touch premature for some of our more charged commentators to write the party’s obituary already. . *