After the departure of Gen. Musharraf and the tragic and sudden death of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, her husband, Asif Ali Zardari took the oath as the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and its 180 million citizens.

But due to his murky past as Mr. 10%, he immediately became an easy target for rumors and criticism and was soon referred to as an ‘Accidental President’ who would not survive long.

 Whatever the reasons, the fact remains that a number of Ides of March have come and gone and despite a four year long campaign of Go Zardari Go, the man is still firmly entrenched in his Presidential Chair and in full control.After failing to remove the President through the media trial, his opponents decided to switch tactics and turned to the Supreme Court and used the NRO and the $60 million in the Swiss bank to remove him from his ivory tower.The SC ordered the government to write a letter to the Swiss bank and ask, as to whom the 60 million dollars belonged to. After months of stalling and deliberate delays by the government, the PM was finally hauled into court and given an ultimatum, either write the letter to the Swiss bank or face contempt of court chargesOnce again, the skills of The Survivor came into play. His loyal and obedient friend, Yousuf Raza Gilani, the 16^th Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in open defiance to the SC order, categorically stated that he was not a peon, but a PM and would not obey or implement the SC command and would rather face the gallows or jail, but would not betray his mentor.This had once again started another period of political uncertainty, which the nation had hoped would come to an end on 26^th April, when the SC ordered the PM to present himself and explain why he should not be charged for contempt of court.Having failed to satisfy the 7 member bench, the PM was found ‘guilty as charged’, but instead of sending a loud and clear message to the nation, that everyone was accountable and no one was above the law, the SC sadly took a decision to punish the PM for just thirty seconds, which he accepted with a cynical smile.The 30-second punishment for the PM, who had challenged, humiliated and ridiculed the CJ, has sent the message that there was one law for the rich and powerful and another for the poor, suffering Awam. Such is the tragedy of this nation. The decision may have avoided a direct confrontation between the Executive and the Judiciary, but in its place, it has triggered a confrontation between the government and the opposition.   And realizing the reluctance of the SC to take decisive action against his government, the PM has defiantly stated that no PPP PM will write the Swiss Bank letters.

The general perception in the Awam is that the right thing for the PM would be to respect and obey the SC orders or resign, but then, such is not the practice in this land of the Pak and the Pure and now the Go Zardari chant has turned to Go Gilani Go. The judgment has also triggered a political crisis that could lead to a major upheaval in the country, as the PM is neither ready to quit nor resign.NS, the leader of the ‘Friendly Opposition’ for four years, realizing that he could not depend on the SC to dismiss the PM, has now decided to launch a ‘Do or Die movement to dislodge  the convicted PM and save democracy and the country’, and has threatened to start a long march.And Imran Khan, not to be left out, has announced that he will trigger a tsunami in Islamabad, while the PPP jialas have also threatened a long march to Raiwind, the sprawling home of NS.These open threats of simultaneous long marches and tsunamis to Islamabad and Raiwind, could lead to an unavoidable clash between the protestors, thus threatening the very survival of democracy in the country. Therefore, it would have been more prudent for both NS and IK, to wait for the full judgment, before announcing these marches and tsunamis.And while the turf war between the gang lords continues and Lyari burns, the turf war between the Legislators also continues and our Assemblies, like our TV Talk Shows, have become battlefields, with shouts and desk thumping.And if clashes between the government and the opposition take place, then the violence will not remain confined just to Islamabad, but would trigger violence in other cities also. And with the amount of fire arms displayed on both sides, it could trigger a civil war in the country. And once again, the writings of Khalil Gibran and his Pity the Nation, comes to mind: ‘Pity the nation whose people are sheep and whose shepherds mislead them – Pity the Nation that raises not its voice, save when it walks in a funeral – Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation’.

Hamid Maker. (Email: trust@helplinetrust.org).