It was a bad day for the rule of law when the workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) resorted to violence outside the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office on the occasion of the appearance of Maryam Nawaz in a case pertaining to land acquisition in Raiwind. The administration had deployed heavy police contingents for the security of the opposition party’s leader. It appears the opposition party planned to create scenes and for that purpose, it gathered workers in front of the NAB office only to clash with the police and delay Maryam’s interrogation. TV footage was aired showing that PML-N workers had arranged bags full of stones to hurl on police, which left several police officials injured. The police rounded up 50 workers and booked 300 others, including Ms Nawaz and 187 other nominated people, for attacking police and NAB personnel and damaging the anti-graft watchdog’s building. In a tit-for-tat act, the PML-N has also filed an application against Prime Minister Imran Khan, NAB chairman Javed Iqbal, PM’s adviser Shahzad Akbar and the Punjab government for making an attempt on the life of Ms Nawaz. She said the police attacked innocent PML-N workers at the behest of those nominated in the application. This is not the first time the PML-N leader has created such a scene at her appearance in court or NAB office. Whenever she is summoned to the NAB office or has to appear in a court, several scores of people are arranged at the scene. On the other hand, several other PML-N leaders like Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal and even Shahbaz Sharif have been appearing before NAB teams without any incidents. The Tuesday violence and ensuing conduct of Ms Nawaz show new alignment in the game for power. After months of unexplained silence, she has broken her silence and now she is heading towards direct confrontation with the government. The party has long been known for their ability to create deals with hidden powers. The Imran Khan camp has also smelt the rat, and it has cornered almost all the players who are known for having association with the real power. The upcoming days herald an increase in political temperature. The PML-N earlier snubbed the PPP-initiated idea of an all party conference to wage a get-Imran campaign, as it seems the Punjab-based party wants to run a protest campaign on its own. This may divide the opposition. Is the government ready to fight on so many fronts? *