PRESIDENT Zardari`s interview with a private TV channel has laid down two important markers in the ongoing judiciaryexecutive saga. One, the president said that as long as his party is in power, the cases under the NRO that the Supreme Court has demanded be reopened will not be reopened. Two, he appearedtosuggestthe government would consider itself bound by the results of the inquiry of the parliamentary committee on national security into the `memogate` scandal leaving some room for doubt about the government`s response to the possible recommendations of the SC-mandated judicial commission. With the court seemingly determined to see its orders implemented, the country may have to yet again brace itself for a rocky month ahead. While the legal tools at the disposal of both sides can in theory drag out the disputes almost indefinitely, it is the unpredictable political consequences of when two institutions refuse to budge that are of concern.
Advising that caution and common sense be applied by both sides is perhaps the most that bystanders, i.e. the public at large, can do at this stage.
On a more positive side, the president appeared to keep the door open to resolving the issue of early general elections with the political opposition, perhaps the wisest option in an arena of dwindlingchoices for the PPP-led dispensation in Islamabad.
Indeed, if the other institutions of state are willing to listen, there is some wisdom in giving the civilian political forces the time and space to resolve electoral and other pending issues in the political arena. Given that no party has a majority and so cannot dominate the rest at the moment, there is a sense that pragmatism could win the day when it comes to settling disagreements over an electoral time frame, the caretaker set-up, the strength of the Election Commission, voter lists, etc. But restraint will be needed by all sides: the government would need to avoid pushing the political opposition towards less salutary options while the political opposition would need to show patience and curb its instincts to take short cuts to getting its way.
Perhaps the least impressive part of the president`s wide-ranging comments concerned his government`s handling of the economy. In expressing confidence about the PPP`s prospects ahead of the next election, Mr Zardari flagged the gamut of social-protection schemes launched by his government. Rather than improve economic fundamentals, the president`s recipe is to dole out more patronage, an approach almost guaranteed to deepen and widen the economic hurt going forward.
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