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Dubai: The cat-and-mouse game has begun in right earnest with the demise of the ruling coalition after six uneasy months in power.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) have long been the dominant political forces in the country and their falling out yesterday is a sure sign that the battle lines will be drawn afresh.
Not that the public memory is all that short. In 1988, when the late Benazir Bhutto led the PPP to power, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif was chief minister of Punjab. The tussle between the two led to the eventual collapse of Bhutto's government in 1990. Sharif went on to become the prime minister but the rivalry with Bhutto brought about the downfall of his government in 1993.
Harsh reality
It is indeed disturbing that Sharif's party is now in power in Punjab, his brother Shahbaz Sharif being the chief minister of the province, and the PPP heading the federal government.
The scenario is not much different for the masses: sky rocketing prices and power blackouts are there all the same.
Though Sharif has this time vowed to play a "constructive role" even if he were to be relegated to the opposition benches, the race to gain control in Punjab may once again spell political uncertainty.
This time, however, there is a third party involved that could reap the dividends: Taliban-led militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are likely to gain more power due to the collapse of the coalition.
The US and its allies have been trying their best to keep the coalition government strong because they believe that a stronger government in Pakistan will be able play a better role in its war against terrorism.
Militants to gain
"Now that the PPP government will be more focused on settling scores with political rivals in the opposition, militants are expected to take advantage of the situation, which is a dangerous sign," said Waleed Ahmed, a political analyst based in Lahore.
He said the split would tell badly on military operation in the north. "Political instability will further fan extremism because it is expected to deepen the economic and political crises in the country," he said.
As far as the general public is concerned, there seems to be no end to their sufferings. Leaders are least bothered whether the poor have to literally fight it out outside shops to get some flour, which is being sold in the black market at much higher prices.
They will also suffer without electricity for 8-10 hours a day even in big cities while the politicians ponder the restoration of deposed judges and election of a new president.
Former president Pervez Musharraf must surely be a relieved man now that he has nothing to do with the latest political crisis in the country.
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