From DailyTimes

From the DT editorial:

But two months are a long time to test the probity of the Punjabi politician. Prime Minister Gilani has hinted at the irreducibility of these two months. The two months are clearly meant for something else. You don’t have to cudgel your brains to arrive at the conclusion that the PPP aims to ward off the danger of the Long March on March 12 and the more dangerous “dharna” on March 16 in Islamabad.

Punjab is pivotal to the success or failure of the Long March. Whoever controls Punjab controls the fortunes of the Long March. And it goes without saying that it will have to be controlled not inside Islamabad but before it reaches Islamabad. It is the gathering of its force in the approaching districts including Rawalpindi which is the main threat and which has to be countered. The PMLN and its supporters will have to be endowed with colossal will power to scale the impediments that the new Punjab administration will place in their path. Once the Long March threat subsides, it will be time to think of the numbers in the Punjab Assembly.

If the Long March is not successful — that is, if the “indefinite dharna” doesn’t lead to the restoration of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry or the unseating of the PPP government — there will be a month and a half in which to persuade the “forward bloc” MPAs to change their sentiments. As we know, loyalties have a peculiar way of undergoing change after an unsuccessful undertaking. The general atmosphere of deflation will no doubt set the stage for the PPP’s victory. But, before that, there is a more sensible and wise course open, that of compromise and reconciliation. And the time for it has not passed. *