THE federal government is striving desperately to stay afloat after the events of Tuesday. The prime minister has been forced to sack two of his ministers and his government has lost a crucial ally in Maulana Fazlur Rahman and his JUI-F. This is a staggering blow to the Zardari-Gilani set-up which has in recent months been struggling to keep its coalition partners reasonably happy. The MQM has repeatedly threatened Prime Minster Yousuf Raza Gilani with withdrawal of its support. Even the ANP says the PPP leaders did not consult it on all important matters. The JUI-F's exit at this stage has indeed endangered the proposed imposition of the reformed general sales tax which the MQM among the PPP allies opposes strongly.

Much more than this, the very survival of the government is at stake. It is no surprise then that Maulana Fazlur Rahman's angry walkout has sent PPP troubleshooters on a search for new partners. The PPP would be happy to court just anyone, and it would be willing to pay the price, just as it was ready to buy the expensive JUI-F favour. Support for the Zardari-Gilani government had earned the maulana prizes such as a few ministries and recently the chairmanship of the Council of Islamic Ideology. His departure now opens up a window for potential PPP allies to blackmail the party for even greater gains than what the JUI-F had managed. Again, given the nature of Pakistani politics, it is hardly a surprise that Maulana Fazlur Rahman's name is prominent on the list of 'probables' who could yet join and secure Prime Minister Gilani. In any event, the government will be even weaker than it has been.

Coalitions are tough to sustain and partners hard to please. On many occasions it had appeared as if the thin thread linking the PPP and the JUI-F was about to snap. The most recent example was that of the RGST on which the JUI-F has some reservations. It is either that the party is using Mr Azam Swati's ouster as a cover to camouflage its resentment against certain bigger issues or that it considers the sacking of one man more significant than the PPP's blunders that it had so far chosen to ignore. True Maulana Hamid Saeed Kazmi was the accused here and Mr Azam Swati an accuser. Yet Mr Swati forced the prime minister's hand by blatantly refusing to adhere to a code and a protocol incumbent upon him as a member of Mr Gilani's cabinet. Maybe not an act of corruption, but surely, he was guilty of something.