The political landscape, which had once been dominated by quarrels over arrests of opposition politicians and the impeding shake-up that was to be the Senate no-trust motion, now stands barren. Apart from a few bitter reactions and their gloating responses there seems to be nothing substantial on the horizon. Even the attendance in the houses of Parliament remained nominal; a picture of the pall that has fallen over the aftermath. With the opposition’s main agenda failing, and the government failing to put forward their own for a while, the question on everyone’s mind now is – what next?

For the opposition the primary focus will be inwards; finding the detractors, dealing with them, and shoring up any cracks in their parties. An even greater task would be repairing the nascent alliance between the combined opposition. The manner if the defeat in the Senate has caused mistrust and hostility to creep into the opposition’s ranks; if not checked by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, it can fester into open conflict.

This leaves the government with an open field and the initiative, should it seek to seize it, to bring the conversation back to its own agenda. But considering that the government failed to bring any major legislation to the floor of the Parliament during its tenure so far it is difficult to see them doing so now. Even during the first few month of this administration, when the impetus lay with Imran Khan’s administration, no major legislative pushes were made. For now, it seems that he seat of democracy will continue to be a mere shouting match between the opposing aisles.

Executive action remains another matter, with the opposition on the back foot the government may use this opportunity to push for more aggressive actions on accountability.