A political solution.

EARLIER this year, the parties that make up the present dispensation made a constitutional effort to dislodge the sitting prime minister. They publicly cited his poor management of the economy as their motivation for demanding a vote of no-confidence but were privately worried he was plotting to co-opt a sympathetic army chief in a bid to perpetuate his reign.

The prime minister in question had the chance to tackle the challenge politically but failed. It all went awry from there. The new government discovered it had inherited a ballooning economic crisis for which there was no quick fix. Meanwhile, the ousted prime minister discovered a potent narrative through which he could return to relevance.

Amidst these challenges, instead of showing resolve, the government started second-guessing itself. Infighting weakened its hand and created a state of near-constant uncertainty, worsening an economic slide that, even if inevitable, need not have become as devastating as it did.

Editorial: A crisis like no other

Fanned by the economic crisis, the fire lit by the politics of early 2022 is now a raging inferno. With no faction willing to compromise, it threatens to burn down the fabric binding the citizenry and the state. The government may be putting up a brave face, but it appears cornered and without options. It cannot retrieve the country from the mess it is in without further jeopardising its political capital.

Meanwhile, the PTI is lashing out in blind aggression. Its chairman would rather have a bloody revolution than see himself acquiesce in the new political order. Every day of their confrontation takes...