The confusion in Punjab does not just affect the province, but the whole country. With Imran Khan threatening to dissolve the Punjab and KP Assemblies, the politicians seem to have ignored the plight of the country’s economy, and to have engaged in their favourite pastime of move and counter-move. Punjab seems to be key, for ever since it saw its Chief Minister resigning at the time of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in March, the province has lurched from crisis to crisis, with the PML(N) gaining the Chief Ministry only after high drama and a court battle, and the PTI gaining it back in the shape of the PML(Q)’s Ch Pervez Elahi. He was widely seen as the potential spoiler for Imran, but the PML(N) has gone after him with a no-confidence motion as well as a request by the Governor for a vote of confidence. Punjab Speaker Sibtain Khan has rejected the Governor’s request on the ground that the Punjab Assembly is in session, and a session to consider the motion can only be considered if the House is prorogued.
That may prove to be the first matter which the other side will go to court to have adjudicated, but it is unlikely to be the last in the present no-holds-barred, devil-take-the-hindmost atmosphere. The no-confidence motion is also likely to see legal tangles. This will not be the first time political matters have gone to court; the last example being Ch Parvez’s own election, where the courts deemed him elected by ruling votes cast in his favour after the presiding officer had ruled them out. The only predictable effect of this going to court is to ensure that the matter is delayed, and the inevitable result will be that economic crisis will grow worse.
The PML(N) does not want fresh elections, because its central government is seeing its political capital disappear as the economy refuses to turn around. Initially, the central government took credit for taking tough decisions, but now it merely seems feckless. The PTI wants fresh elections at once because PTI chief Imran Khan feels that there is a wave in his favour, which may not last forever. However, the only real way out of the crisis is not for the matter to be settled in the courts, but for there to be a dialogue between the two sides, and national elections to be agreed on, though not at a date set by Imran Khan. Politicians must settle the matter among themselves, or else the crisis will just drag on.
