Nawaz Sharif should exert more authority

It may look like a tiny storm — Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s description of the ongoing crisis wherein he is being asked to step down by two intransigent opponents — but the situation has the potential to turn into a more advanced state of inclement political weather if Sharif continues to treat the crisis with kid gloves...

Rather than mollify Imran Khan, Sharif needs to call his bluff... His seemingly resolute stand that offered hope over the weekend now looks to be thoroughly compromised with the Army stepping in as the mediator between the government and Khan. This is the last thing Sharif should have acquiesced to, given the Army’s role in Pakistan’s political past. Rather than be seen as compromising with the spirit of democracy, Sharif must wrest back the control of the situation and thereby reiterate a crucial truth: That as a leader of a duly elected government, he has what it takes to prevent the hijacking of Pakistan’s constitutional dignity and supremacy.