IN a strange development, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif has predicted a ‘constitutional meltdown’ in the country. In a television interview, he did not explain further but added that he was not talking about the possibility of a martial law being imposed in the country, emphasizing that there should be political solutions to political issues. In another interview, the Minister also claimed about ‘whispers’ regarding cancellation of general election on a petition to be filed after October this year, declaring the PML(N) will go to any extent to save its Government.
Khawaja Asif is a seasoned politician and a responsible Federal Minister, therefore, his remarks cannot be treated as slip of the tongue. He might have inside information about what could happen in coming weeks and months and their impact on the system and, therefore, his remarks about a constitutional meltdown ‘sooner or later’ become understandable. However, irrespective of the motives, the prediction seems to be suicidal as it can inflict a severe blow to the stability of the government. Propagation of such information or disinformation on the part of the political opposition is explainable but it is not expected that a responsible minister would talk about a ‘meltdown’ or existential threats to the government giving deadlines for the purpose. Instead of lending credibility to rumours about conspiracies to destabilize the government, it is for the rulers to come out with practical moves to counter such threats. It is an open secret that the Pakistan Army has taken an institutional decision to remain apolitical and, therefore, there is no possibility of any supra-constitutional move on the part of the Army. It is also known to all that instead, the Pakistan Army is lending its full support to the government to carry out reforms, boost the economy and attract foreign investment. The Minister too has ruled out the possibility of a martial law but seems to be apprehensive of some moves on the judicial front after October (an apparent reference to the change of command in the apex court) and this makes his warning understandable. However, the country can neither afford fresh elections so soon nor any move that could potentially destabilize the incumbent government, which is making frantic efforts to bring the economy back on track. We have been emphasizing in these columns that there is no room for carrying out further experiments based on the bitter experience of the past.
