Pressure mounts on Pak PM

The Pakistan army elite has sounded the warning bell for the beleaguered Nawaz Sharif government.

At the Corps Commanders meeting on 14th October, the animosity towards the prime minister and his team was evident. The terse statement that came out made it clear that that the powerful military blame the PMO for the leak to Dawn which published an article  that they said breached national security. They termed Cyril Almeida's (writer) information as "false and fabricated."

However, they did not clarify why a false and fabricated story could endanger national security.

The army gave the Sharif government five days to find out the source that 'fed' the information to Almeida about the crucial October 3rd meeting. Almeida's report had minute details and it was later backed by the editor of Dawn who said that the facts were checked and rechecked.

During the five days that the Sharif government had to come up with a plausible explanation, the PMO bungled by first putting Almeida on the Exit Control List and then withdrawing it. It fielded Interior Minister Chaudhury Nisar to awkwardly explain its stand.

After keeping his friends and foes guessing for weeks, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan unveiled on Saturday his plan to paralyse Islamabad: party workers will block roads leading to government offices – particularly those continuously being mentioned in his speeches.

"Now, Nawaz Sharif will have to either resign or will be held accountable for his proven corruption," Khan said at a gathering of Insaf Professional Forum.

Khan, however, hinted at the possibility of a change in the schedule of the Islamabad lock-down date. Earlier, he had announced Oct 30 as the final showdown date.

Urging the masses to be ready for a longer showdown in Islamabad, the PTI chief said the workers would continue occupying roads and entrances of major government offices such as National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency, Federal Board of Revenue and Election Commission of Pakistan.

Saying that his struggle was against the corrupt mafia, he added the country could be strengthened if institutions were strengthened.

He critcised the incumbent PML-N and previous PPP governments for weakening state institutions, adding NAB had failed to act against Nawaz, Shahbaz, Ishaq Dar and Khursheed Shah.

Islamabad is now bracing itself for the inevitable. There was a gossamer coup of 2014 where Raheel Sharif took charge of foreign policy and security matters but left the rest to Nawaz. But now the distance between PMO and GHQ is too vast to be bridged. Raheel Sharif retires on 30th November and speculations were rife whether he would get an extension or fade away into the sunset.

The word is out in corridors of power and the marketplace that Nawaz Sharif's days are numbered. But Sharif still might have some aces up his sleeve. He is a long time player of the military versus government game.