By Ahmed Naeem
The Supreme Court verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance — commonly known as NRO — was not unexpected, yet the media hype created a sense of chaos in the country, sparking fears of military coup.
Notwithstanding that military as well as civil bureaucracies have never been happy with the liberal and centre-left ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and have always tried to destabilise and overthrow its governments, in the present situation it seems unlikely that the military might be able to take power.
But the situation is not as unstable as it appears to be and the dust will settle in the coming days if the players do not cross over their limits.
The steps taken by the Supreme Court after its ruling on the NRO, which stepped on the turf of the administrative and legislative branches of the state, made it seem that the country is heading towards a judicial dictatorship. Formation of different judicial committee and sub-committees to monitor the performance of different state institutions will limit the authority of the government eroding its control over the administration.
