Mr Pervez Khattak’s issuance of a show-cause notice to a dissident Noor Alam Khan for his grand thundering and rumbling in the parliament, especially when he was very recently being hauled over the coals himself, has landed the ruling party in a pretty hot frying pan. Whether the leading commanders are able to restore order in the house would either go down as a close call or pave the ground for an even deeper plunge-into the fire. Taking a dig at his own party for ignoring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr Khan had instantly shot to spotlight, joining the defence minister in his defiant finger-waving to Islamabad. While he is surely answerable to the party for whatever line he takes in the house he chose its ticket to sit in, the legal high ground is just a small part of the dense equation. For, how does the PTI plan to keep a check on the rising protest tide if it goes on whipping sticks without handing out any carrot? In the same session, another leader had stepped forth; taking a stand against excessive billing. Careful enough to reserve some hard-hitting punches for the coming days, but the discord was not entirely dyed-in-the-wool. Then perhaps, the hands rocking the party cradle are trying to put the one-page lid back on in a bid to quash any “opposition-in-making.” But more importantly for the kitchen cabinet, and as passionately stressed upon by Mr Khattak, it is people like him, like Mr Khan and other members of national and provincial assemblies who have to go meet the public and convince them for a rerun. The brigade of unelected advisors that form the brains behind every controversial policy spends its golden days without such baggage and clearly has no wish to alter the status quo. However, since these yes-men play little to no part in popular politics, our top leadership’s strange preference can only churn out all the colourful headlines and tales of deepening cracks it wants. A fool-proof campaign for 2023, you ask? Not very likely. Lay a blackmail card here and wave a menacing notice there, but better stand guard for sincere party-making slipping through the back door! *