After looking at the internal and external scenarios inching towards a dangerous trend of brinkmanship, it is hard to predict the future. If this was restricted to a single front, one could hope that wiser counsels would help bring the required balance among different organs of the state. But it seems that all the state organs, in Pakistan, have been inadvertently sucked into brinkmanship. However, they fail to realise the fact that this can lead to a national disaster. On the judicial front. The recent standoff between the two major pillars of state - the judiciary and the executive - raised fears that the country is heading towards chaos and anarchy. Though Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had repeatedly declared that the government has complied and will comply with the courts orders, the ground reality is otherwise. Between the passing of an order by the court and its actual implementation in letter and in spirit, there is a lot of rough ground and many obstacles not easy to cross. For instance, the NICL and Haj corruption scams are not the only examples where the directives of the Supreme Court have not been implemented by the executive to its satisfaction. This has, indeed, widened the gap between the judiciary and the executive. (According to latest media reports, the dust has settled, to some extent, at least for now.) Anyway, whatever happens in the future, the opposition has found it as a God-gifted opportunity to further exploit the present political dispensation. On the political and security front. The law and order situation in Pakistan in general, and Karachi in particular, is getting out of control and the killing of innocent civilians continues. The federal and provincial governments, as well as the law enforcement agencies, have completely failed to detain and punish all those who are responsible for the ongoing violence. But the question is: Does anybody care? Have we - the people of Pakistan - demonstrated our concern by way of public protest to pressurise the government to take the necessary steps in order to save Pakistan, especially Karachi, from this bloodshed? Unfortunately, even the opposition has not responded strongly to the pathetic situation in Karachi. The government needs to make efforts on a war footing to control the rapidly spreading flames of death and destruction in the city of lights, which has been engulfed by the dark clouds of terror. On the economic front. Pakistans economy has fallen so much that it requires serious attention and endeavour by the leadership in Islamabad to revive it. Successive governments, which had announced several programmes to boost the countrys economy, the present dispensation, even after more than three years, has done nothing concrete to introduce and implement an appropriate revival plan. Rather, the situation has taken a quantum leap for the worse. Inflation, power out rages, gas loadshedding, unemployment, lawlessness, etc continue to further aggravate the sufferings of the people, with no relief in sight even during the holy month of Ramazan, despite the governments announcement of 'relief packages and setting up 'Ramazan bazaars. At the time, Islamabad sticks to its 'begging bowl strategy and subjugation to donor agencies, like World Bank and the IMF, as it is the only option to solve the present financial crisis. However, there are better options available to resolve it, but it requires 'real political will. The government should take immediate steps to help improve the states economy and peoples lives. On the diplomatic front. The relations between the two allies - USA and Pakistan - in the war on terror are on a rollercoaster ride. Washington minces no words while describing the trust deficit that exists between the leaderships, both civilian and military, of the two countries. Whereas Islamabad has rightly protested over the violation of its territory by America, especially after Operation Geronimo, and DG ISI General Shuja Pashas demand to stop the drone attacks. In any case, it seems that the public utterances and statements by US officials are making a bad situation worse. As a final word, it is important that all the state institutions in Pakistan should avoid confrontation at all costs and cooperate to deal with the challenges facing the country. n The writer is President of the Pakistan National Forum.