Daily Times

From one incumbent to two and now, rushing back to the ominous zero, Punjab’s chief executive office remains caught up in dark clouds of misfortune. Now that the Election Commission of Pakistan has confirmed the unconventional Supreme Court short order, “Defections rightly stand condemned as a cancer afflicting the body politic,” and the 25 PTI members who decided to stand behind PML(N)’s Hamza Shahbaz have been sent packing, we are back to the drawing board.

With Pervez Elahi claiming the support of 168 votes and the present chief minister left with 169, a sweeping glance still suggests business as usual. The order of the business suggests a simple majority in cases the result of the first round of no-confidence vote is thrown out of the window.

But amid the Gujrat scion, Moonis Elahi raising the reserved seats placard and the largely overlooked four independent MPAs shaking a leg, the game is far from over. Isn’t it outrightly tragic that at a time when the country is reeling under the worst economic turmoil in its history, there is no pillar for it to lean back on? Instead of rolling up sleeves and getting down to the arduous task of presenting the least damaging budget while fulfilling the back-breaking IMF conditions, the government is still entrapped in the “stay or leave” impasse.

With the opposition fixated on showing its street power across the country and the coalition government showing signs of discord, Pakistan of 2022 is not a rosy sight from any angle. A single tweet by the new administration of the crisis-hit Sri Lanka has overshadowed all nuanced sloganeering done by Islamabad in the last one month.

Instead of throwing the en masse resignation question the masses way, the ruling PML (N) should have been on top of its management game before it showed up to accept the sword. It can only be hoped that some sort of sanity would prevail and the last man standing has enough time to save this sinking ship. *