So soon after the fires of ‘Revolution’ and ‘Change’ had gone cold, a new political storm started rising from their ambers. And it looks if the PTI and PML-N keep churning it up, it will burst open on November 30 with unknown results.

Imran Khan is in the eye of the storm brewing over his threat to start new fireworks if the government did not start probing the 2013 general election results by that deadline. While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and senior members of his cabinet have adopted “wait and see” approach, some of his junior ministers have found the PTI chairman’s latest warning hilarious.

This overweening reaction from the government quarters stems from the feeling in the ruling party that the stubborn Imran Khan has lost relevance.

In the midst of the rhetorical attacks from the two sides, an Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court has issued warrants of arrest for Imran and the PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, on the charge of inciting violence filed by the government against them. Imran Khan has dared the government to arrest him, though many observers feel the threat of arrest is directed more at the Canada-based Islamic scholar to keep him away from the new confrontation.

Meanwhile, the government looks unperturbed by Imran’s daily harangues from his container trailer parked in the D-Chowk, and weekly rallies elsewhere in the country.

The prime minister has kept his schedule of foreign trips, and has advised his ministers to ignore the avalanche of PTI criticisms and concentrate on their work.

Already, the prime minister has been auditing their performance, reportedly with the idea of making changes in the cabinet to brighten up his government’s image and signal that normalcy is returning to the government.

Those who argue that Imran Khan has lost momentum, and that his threats shouldn’t be taken seriously, only see that the tide which the PTI had been able to raise, together with Dr Tahirul Qadri, against the government during the months of August and September has ebbed.

Dr Qadri left the dharna scene on October 21 for Canada, ostensibly to reorganise his party, and replenish its coffers, abroad.

After his departure the PTI looks lonelier. It already stood isolated as a parliamentary party because all other parties represented in the two houses stood by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to shield him against his two challengers, who were accused of playing the game of a potent third force.

A member of the cabinet told Dawn that the military has made it very clear that it was no more interested in politics.

The Supreme Court, which used to approve every military takeover, also showed its disinclination by striking down the PTI petition that questioned the validity of 2013 general elections. All this was enough for the twice dismissed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to regain confidence in completing his third term in the office.  

“The fear of the democratic system being wrapped up as a result of the street agitation by PTI and PAT was debilitating. We have to get rid of this mindset,” said the minister, recalling “the dreadful melodrama” of the sit-ins on the Constitution Avenue.

Now that the resolute support from all sides – the political parties, lawyers and business communities and civil rights organizations – averted “the feared horrible outcome”, he said. “We in the government need to get on with the governing business and work towards fulfilling the promises we made to the people at the time of elections.”

But only a minority in the ruling PML-N thinks that the government should take Imran Khan’s offer to restart negotiations and find an amicable solution to political questions rather than persisting in the stand-off.

A party office bearer close to the top leadership agreed that the majority believed the PML-N is out of the woods. “But I personally think that our leadership should keep its eyes focused on the every move Imran Khan makes.”

What worries the party men like him is the big crowds that Imran Khan draws wherever he takes his anti-government campaign to. That means to them that the man, whose party won second highest number of votes in the last general election and denounces the results as rigged, is striking chord with the masses.

Still the PML-N office bearer thought the PTI chief deserved an audience and not to be spurned as the government did.

“Agreed, that his wish to involve ISI and MI in the proposed investigation into the 2013 election results is controversial, but it doesn’t make sense to make it a point of no return,” he said. “I think, Prime Minister Sharif must engage Imran Khan in talks and try to get out of the still fluid political situation.”

Some outside the PML-N have also echoed this thought.

PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira, has repeatedly said in TV talk shows that by writing off Imran Khan the government is playing a dangerous game, which can go either way.

After all, did not obstinate cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan open a window of opportunity for the government by dropping his main demand of the prime minister’s resignation and agreeing to a judicial commission determining his charge of rigged election results?

A PML-N insider lamented that the party leadership appeared set to take the same route out of a crisis of survival that brought it disaster in 1993 and 1999. “One can only hope the result is different this time,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2014