Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has categorically stated that the country is not heading for any mid-term elections and everyone has to wait till 2018 when the government’s tenure will end. He said that 2018 will be the year when every party will be tested based on its past performance and the people of Pakistan will decide their own fate through the ballot box. He humbly conceded the irregularities in the current system but rightly suggested that these imperfections could only be worked out through constitutional and democratic means and not highhanded and unconstitutional acts. No doubt the way the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has been railing against the PML-N government for the last three months or so, speculations did stir up regarding a possible midterm poll. Add to that the ongoing jalsa culture that has created an election-like atmosphere. With the failure of the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) sit-ins that began on August 14, the parties shifted their strategy to countrywide protests and gatherings. Seeing the impetus, the PPP, PML-Q and others too have started campaigning as if the elections are going to be held anytime now. Jamaat-e-Islami has just concluded its three-day-long congregation in Lahore. Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri are addressing their supporters in Gujranwala and Bakkhar respectively at the time when these words were being written. Khan, who has already given his ‘final deadline’ to the government of November 30, which he says will be the decisive day, is using all possible means to tighten what he hopes will be the noose around Nawaz Sharif’s neck. Qadri on the other hand, has once again hinted at rejoining his ‘political cousin’ on November 30th, if the latter invites him. The country is possibly facing yet another political debacle similar to the one of August 14 and its aftermath. It is in this context that the PM has come out categorically with a definite nmessage, i.e. he is staying till at least 2018. However, at this point, a moment should be spared by all the pundits, especially Imran Khan, to ponder the consequences of an impending political confrontation that is excessively prone to turningviolent. In such a scenario, who will be the beneficiary and who will be the loser? Looking at the history of Pakistan, one thing immediately stands out that democratic governments have never been allowed to function properly and it is the public that comes out as the biggest loser as a consequence. Antagonists from within and outside the political circles have mostly done down and made elected governments dysfunctional. Only in 2013, the country witnessed a landmark transition of power from one party to another through democratic means. That transition might have irritated some but it definitely laid the ground for building stable, strong democratic institutions. Imran Khan on the other hand, with his mantra of corruption and rigged elections is desperate to enter the corridors of power even if he needs help from a ‘third umpire’. It is too much for him to wait till 2018 and go through the electoral process. The violence on August 30, to which his and PAT’s party workers resorted, was probably him clutching at the last straw, since despite using all other means he could not overthrow the PM. It appears that this time he does not even intend to remain peaceful. That implies more chaos and violence, which means destabilisation and disruption of the government’s functioning. The need for electoral reforms and more transparency cannot be denied but the irregularities and indiscretions of the system do not justify replacement with a dictator or autocrat. So, at this time when the PTI and PML-N are at loggerheads and the November 30th battle is looming, it is a timely clarification by the PM to rule out any possibility of the government being dissolved. And it is to the benefit of the system and the people if other parties too coalesce with the government on this agenda and adhere to the supremacy of the constitution while ensuring the continuity and consolidation of the democratic system. *