Thaindian News

Islamabad, Dec 9 (IANS) Pakistan is lurching from crisis to crisis, and seems like “a novel in which the plot changes with remarkable speed each time we turn a page”, a leading English daily said Friday.

“We live in times of mystery and suspense,” an editorial in the News International said.

“Sometimes it seems we are making our way through a novel in which the plot changes with remarkable speed each time we turn a page. For a novel of course it is quality reading, but is this what we need in our national life?”

The editorial appeared as the country was gripped with speculation about a possible coup following the sudden departure of President Asif Ali Zardari to Dubai Tuesday. The US has scotched the coup rumours and officials say the president, who underwent medical tests for his heart ailment, is stable.

The editorial said: “Because the resultant sense of uncertainty cripples us, leaving us incapable of pursuing the normal tasks of life and governance as we lurch from crisis to crisis.”

It said Zardari’s medical check-up has led to all sorts of speculation and rumours about a situation developing which could have many serious repercussions.

“Why did Zardari leave the country? Was health the true reason? Will he return? Is he going to London? Is his young son now in command indefinitely? Why has Bilawal taken over the PPP reins formally,” it asked.

The editorial said the meeting between Zardari’s son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, coupled with accounts of envoys being withdrawn from various countries, “has only added to the prevailing uncertainty and speculation”.

It said the government has “made a mess of the job of circulating information regarding the president”.

The editorial went on to say that “Zardari has done little during his three and a half years in power to bring any sense of stability to his country. The truth is that, to a great degree, the president and the coterie around him have been responsible for much of the instability and uncertainty that shake and surround this land, and for the terrible image of the present PPP government”.

It asked some more questions: “If Zardari indeed flees the field in the face of growing hostility, what happens next? Will a saviour emerge? Is this the final act in the drama we are witnessing? Or is there much more to come? If the rumours become a fact, Pakistan may be in for another upheaval. Could it be for the better this time?”

“Time will tell.”