The slogan is not new but it seems to be rapidly catching on across Pakistan. In recent weeks, chants of ‘Go Nawaz, Go’ have clearly resonated across the country as Pakistan’s embattled and clearly weakened Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has sought to ride out the prevailing storm buffeting his government. During visits to areas hit by recent floods, Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif who serves as chief minister of the populous Punjab province, have both been welcomed by slogans of ‘Go Nawaz, Go’ from an increasingly enraged public. A repeat of the same has been seen in the case of other government leaders out and about for seemingly well-intentioned public exposures. The consequence of the build-up has been such that the erstwhile opposition leader Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party has advised Sharif to avoid public exposure.

More than seven weeks after protests led by legendary cricket star turned politician Imran Khan and moderate Islamic cleric Tahirul Qadri grabbed the headlines, Sharif presides over a seemingly wobbly ruling structure. Notwithstanding the comfortable parliamentary majority of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the party’s grip over the Punjab — a province that dominates Pakistan’s politics — there is clearly a storm surrounding the ruling party.

Meanwhile, other elements of Pakistan, notably the economy, remain caught in the fallout from the overall uncertainly. While barometers such as the Karachi stock exchange or KSE continue to move upwards, the trends which directly relate to the lives of Pakistan’s impoverished population are indeed unchanged. While Sharif and his ruling coterie embark upon infrastructure projects such as new roads and transport projects, little has been done to eradicate Pakistan’s widespread poverty. Meanwhile, the crisis of governance surrounding key sectors such as a dismal performance across public sector in health care and education continues unabated.

While the exact turn of coming events is difficult to predict, it is clear that Sharif’s continuation as Pakistan’s prime minister provides no assurance of his ability to tackle the multiple crises affecting the country. The past 16 months since his widely celebrated election and Sharif’s unprecedented return as prime minister for the third time, have clearly failed to bring out any element of good news for the people of Pakistan. Anecdotal evidence clearly suggests a more disenchanted public mood than ever before. Under these circumstances, there are virtually no prospects for even a dim light at the end of the tunnel for the future of Pakistan.

The crisis may not yet have pulled down Sharif from power. However, the storm in Islamabad unleashed by the combined protests of Khan and Qadri presents a clear writing on the wall; Sharif needs to return to the drawing board if he wants to protect not just his own position but perhaps the future of Pakistan’s increasingly tainted democracy.

Comprehensive poll review

Ending the prevailing political storm requires Sharif to act on three related fronts.

First, he must yield to the demand from Khan and Qadri to allow a comprehensive review of the electoral record of 2013. The anecdotal evidence suggesting different types of irregularities is now so widely discussed across Pakistan that shoving the issue under the carpet is no more an option. If indeed Sharif believes that the allegations are way too exaggerated, his only way to be vindicated lies through allowing an impartial and credible investigation. Second, part of the protests have been provoked by the killings of 14 protesters in Lahore, capital of the Punjab, on June 17 this year. The victims had gathered to support Qadri before they were brutally attacked. Qadri has since demanded that the younger Sharif who rules over the Punjab, must be shown the door. The matter is so serious that the chief minister’s position has indeed become hugely untenable. If the prime minister would have moved earlier to replace his brother with another political loyalist, there is a chance that the storm may not have become so intense.

Finally, Sharif’s absolutely strong determination to keep former president and former military ruler Pervez Musharraf confined to his home in Karachi is much too bizarre to be logically understood. The two men indeed have an acrimonious history. Musharraf is the former general who oversaw Sharif’s arrest in a 1999 military coup and his subsequent exile to Saudi Arabia. If indeed Sharif is seeking to settle a score, this is absolutely the wrong moment to do so.

Pushing Musharraf to remain in the dock and eventually even sent to prison, is the kind of step which will keep the Pakistan army’s anger level at a high pitch. It is already clear that Musharraf has a very slim public support and therefore presents no real political threat to the prime minister. Closing this chapter amicably by allowing Musharraf to travel outside Pakistan as requested by the former president, will help Sharif repair his ties with the army that appear to have been damaged considerably.

Once back on the drawing board, Sharif needs to work aggressively to begin clearing up the political turmoil that surrounds his government. Unlike a year ago, there are virtually no voices of the kind which suggest ‘Come Nawaz, Come’.

If indeed Sharif continues to defy the odds as he has chosen to do so far, there is a danger that the ‘Go Nawaz, Go’ will become a louder rallying cry across Pakistan for the growing community of anti-government activists. A time may come in the not too distant future that changing the slogan will become impossible for Pakistan’s present-day rulers.

Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.