What will come of a political showdown?

The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PMLN) has given the Pakistan People’s Party 48 hours to stop what it describes as a a ’smear campaign’ against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

With this ultimatum, the tensions between the government and opposition party have come to a head. In recent weeks, the PPP and PMLN have disagreed on the issue of whether Pervez Musharraf should be tried for his actions on November 3, 2007. ‘Revelations’ by intelligence officials about a two-decade-old episode in which the ISI reportedly funded an opposition campaign against Benazir Bhutto have also fueled the fire.

Are Pakistan’s two major political parties – the PPP and PMLN – on a collision course? Can the government take steps to avert a showdown with the opposition that would plunge this nation into further political instability? Or is an all-out confrontation between these two major parties one of the best ways to purge Pakistan’s political past of its demons so that democracy can enjoy a new start in this country?

The views expressed in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Source: Dawn News

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