Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s remarks while talking to the press at the Bhutto mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bux on Sunday, do not bode well for the future. By saying that the party had made its stance known publicly, he made it clear that the new government would repeat the inaction which had led to the disqualification of Mr Gilani, to wit his failure to obey the Supreme Court’s order that he write a letter to the Swiss authorities for the re-institution of a corruption case against President Zardari. The removal of Mr Gilani has not removed the  weight of that letter, with the Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing of the case later this week. With Raja Pervaiz almost daring the Supreme Court to remove him, one prays for cooler heads to prevail all round. It would not help stability for the country to have its Prime Ministers falling because of a letter. There is the worry of the PPP leadership losing sight of the fact that the Prime Minister of Pakistan will have to solve many problems that Mr Gilani had left in the midst, such as crippling inflation and crushing energy shortages, not to mention a declining law and order situation and a low ebb of relations with the US.

The PPP’s resistance to abandon the attitude that Mr Zardari must not suffer from the consequences of his actions has turned the PM’s office into a joke, whereby he holds office only if he proves himself more loyal than the king by defying the Supreme Court. The President should also realize that as the head of state, he has a particular responsibility to ensure that the government has a greater purpose than ensuring its own survival. Instead of confirming by the current strategy that the Swiss courts hold something that the President fears, he should seize the opportunity to clear his name of the charge, which he claims is false. The Supreme Court’s directions must also demonstrate a higher wisdom, one that is humble and cognisant of the fact that our fragile democracy is yet to successfully complete a full five year term.