TWO events in the last couple of days have underlined the knife-edge that the country is on in terms of politics. Yesterday, the five-member bench of the Supreme Court stopped short of issuing any adverse order against the PPP-led federal government in the NRO implementation hearings but in giving six options to the Supreme Court chief justice, have clearly marked the two ends of the spectrum in terms of a resolution to the NRO saga. At one end is the 'hard' option: unseat the president, prime minister and law minister for wilful violation of the constitution.

At the other end is the 'soft' option, though some may find it hard to stomach: allow the sovereignty of the people to prevail and let the matter be decided in the court of public opinion, whether through the ballot box or by the presently elected representatives in parliament. As the SC bench noted in an admirable nod to what is at stake exercising the soft option may stave off a crisis of democracy itself. The court went as far as it could in stating what others can perhaps state more bluntly: beyond a certain point, a judiciary determined to get its way in controversial matters could end up dismantling the very structures of democracy that it seeks to protect. It remains to be seen which coursethe larger bench will opt to take.

The other event was Prime Minister Gilani's comments regarding the 'illegality and unconstitutionality' of the army chief and the DG ISPs affidavits submitted to the SC in the memo hearings. Mr Gilani's statement appeared to indicate that behind-thescenes attempts to engineer a patch-up between the army leadership and the Zardari-led government have either already broken down or at the very least are not proceeding well. Between Mr Gilani's first outspoken statement against a 'state within a state' several weeks ago and Monday's comments, there was speculation that perhaps the government had once again chosen to not respond to perceived attacks from other institutions of the state in the hope of reaching some kind of a negotiated settlement. But Mr Gilani's latest comments appear to suggest that the government intends to mount a vigorous fight-back rather than be progressively cornered.

Any of the three institutions the government, the superior judiciary and the army being on the warpath does not bode well for national stability.

The SC's 'soft' option is worth dwelling on by all sides: the government could expedite elections and the other institutions unhappy with the government can submit to the judgment of the people.