Had it acted foolishly on Friday, the Pakistani
But the consequences remain of the 73 days in which the government-judiciary row bared itself to public view, and then boiled to become a crisis. The handling of a delicate constitutional matter has done enough damage to last for five years, perhaps even more, besides unleashing problems that will continue to haunt the government for some time.
Consider what has happened in the last two months. Important petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court that can be destructive for the government. A petition seeking disqualification of Mr Sharif for violating Supreme Court orders and his contempt of court will be heard on Monday. Another petition challenging the 13th Amendment, which chopped the president's discretionary power to dissolve the National Assembly, has also been filed. The Supreme Court has already suspended the 14th Amendment, loosening Mr Sharif's tight control over his party members' behaviour inside the House. There are two more cases, the Senator Safdar Abbasi corruption case and the Wheat scandal case, that are being heard by the Supreme Court.
But Mr Sharif and his cabinet members can offset these after-effects of their battle with the Chief Justice provided they are willing to be wiser. In this regard, the PM has already been advised to tender an apology to the Supreme Court for the government's contemptuous attitude.
All said and done, this has been a useful lesson for those who think that there cannot be any limit to the exercise of parliamentary power. The other useful lesson the government can learn, and learn it by heart, is that it does not pay to define the solution of important issues in absolute terms.
Yet another lesson is that it pays to adopt a cautious and conservative approach to matters of national significance, and that form should never be lost. The government went wild with frustration over not getting the Chief Justice to agree to change his position.
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