With a further descent into chaos – making recovery from last year’s floods even slower – Islamabad has relied on an old strategy: the diversionary ‘charms’ of India. Unsurprisingly, it has kept the India kettle on boil, using every opportunity to point fingers at New Delhi. This is not a tenable situation for the people of Pakistan or the region. Therefore, India’s invitation to Zardari to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet may do little to restore normalcy. Pakistan must reform its economy in line with the IMF bailout package. But, before that, it needs a stop-gap solution in the form of short-term stability.
Pakistan now has to choose between the ‘least worst’ option. Former prime minister Imran Khan may have put on the martyr’s cap in an attempt to force early elections, otherwise scheduled for October, which has not helped matters. But earlier elections may be the only way right now for a ‘ceasefire’ between the Shehbaz Sharif-Rawalpindi regime and Khan. The high court’s decision to hold off his arrest on corruption charges may have staved off an escalation, but not for long.
Elections could help the people of Pakistan send out a clear message that enough is enough; the government that it cares; and opponents like Khan a platform to prove his singular point: that he is the only force that can take Pakistan out of the abyss. Something that India should consider listening to, without necessarily believing minus any proof.
