Why did PTI actually walk out of the talks over the issue of terrorism? If the federal government asked its own province to correct its policy on the issue and act in accordance with the National Action Plan, what was wrong with that? Was this not an entirely legitimate and logical demand? Terrorism is a real and serious problem. Now, if such a legitimate demand is enough to make someone so displeased and angry that they walk away from negotiations altogether, does it not raise serious strategic questions about conduct?

PTI, as a matter of strategy, targets everything that can put the state under pressure. Perhaps it believes that by doing so, it will force the state to come to terms with it. It is not merely playing with the government; it is exploiting the state’s vulnerabilities. It still does not seem to understand how dangerous this game could become for the party itself.

One of the state’s vulnerabilities was the economy. This was no ordinary crisis. National security itself was at stake. PTI chose to target this weak point. Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis were a lifeline for the Pakistani state. PTI targeted that very lifeline. It began asking overseas Pakistanis not to send money to Pakistan as long as this........

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