Having survived a tumultuous, disastrous weekend, the PML-N government somehow still has the opportunity to try and salvage the situation and save the democratic system from collapse.
Whether it will be able to do so will in large part depend on whether Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is willing to lead from the front and act decisively and quickly.
There are at least two things Mr Sharif needs to do: rally the democratic forces in the country to save the democratic system; and approach Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri to bring them back to the negotiating table.
In calling a joint session of parliament for Tuesday, the PML-N will be hoping to once again demonstrate that the political class is emphatically and solidly on the side of democracy – and that the unconstitutional and unjust demands of the anti-government protesters should not be given in to.
While the mainstream political parties in the country are largely in agreement with the government on the need to protect the democratic system, there is a great deal of unease at the PML-N’s continuing mishandling of the political crisis.
Rather than grab the initiative and control the evolving political narrative, the PML-N strategy is a defensive one: the government continues to insist it is open to talks with the PTI and Mr Qadri but, especially when the possibility of a negotiated settlement recedes, seems far too comfortable relying on heavy-handed tactics by the law-enforcement agencies to repel street pressure.
Right or wrong, the time has passed when the PML-N could escape the present situation without making any concessions.
The PML-N will now have to make some big concessions – so why not approach the PTI and Mr Qadri with the big concessions that could entice them back to the negotiating table?
Despite their maximalist positions, both Mr Khan and Mr Qadri surely have various pressures that may make them amenable to a negotiated exit.
As the falling out between Mr Khan and PTI president Javed Hashmi yesterday demonstrated, Mr Khan cannot simply keep increasing the pressure on the government in any way possible without experiencing some kind of backlash from his base.
As if to underline that the PML-N leadership can and should do better, the army leadership put out a statement late last evening deploring the violence that occurred over the weekend and encouraging the government to seek a negotiated settlement.
If anything, it indicates that the army leadership is willing to give the prime minister a little more time before imposing a solution of its own.
Perhaps what the prime minister and his team need to absorb is that the country has witnessed scenes far worse than what occurred on Saturday and yet seasoned and mature politicians have eventually found a way to resolve many past political crises.
Where there’s a will there’s usually a way.
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