Former prime minister Imran Khan was demanding fair elections when he opened the floor for a long march on the citadel four weeks ago. Snap forward to Sunday and he is still sounding the alarm for the upcoming wave of anarchy if round two is not held. The only addition has been that of yet another buzzword, “free”–which can easily be slammed as a hype-generating platitude in the absence of any concrete measures. How should Pakistan hold this cleansing exorcism that would root out all the evils and ensure honey and milk flow “freely” across the land? One given starting point could be the reservations held against the present Chief Election Commissioner, who was quite interestingly appointed during the PTI tenure. Even if the scathing accusations of letting political preferences cloud his judgement as the top watchdog of democracy, the only known process to deliberate upon his substitutes cannot be kickstarted. Ever since the opposition party refused to sit on the other side of the august house and insisted on resignations en masse, its leader is in no position to be a part of any said discussions. Simply saying that Mr Sikandar Sultan Raja has “lost credibility” and serves better as “PML(N)’s mouthpiece” cannot summon another man to hold the bull’s horns. While a functioning parliamentary democracy does not even allow the treasury benches to bulldoze through such a fundamental appointment, someone sitting outside the pavilion can only dream of mountains being moved to carry out his whims. Since wishes are not horses, the only viable path remains consensus and that is largely why any well-wisher of Mr Kaptaan would request him to refrain from the usual confrontational ticker bombs and give in to olive branches being extended from influential corners. After all, as he very rightly pointed out, “the nation (is) in a downward spiral,” and ergo, personal vendettas can wait till the economy is out of the intensive care unit. Just like him, all of Pakistan is praying for a narrow escape from the “path” that “Sri Lanka” is on. *