The National Assembly witnessed an outcry against the government, with one member even calling for the Prime Ministers resignation. These high dramatics would not have been extraordinary if they had been conducted by the Opposition, but their being conducted by government allies and even Treasury backbenchers showed that there is a deep resentment in the country of the violence in Karachi. The government had to face walkouts on these issues, not just from the PML-N and JUI-F, which are in the opposition, but also the MQM, which is more or less a government ally as, though its ministers have not taken back their recent resignations, its Sindh Governor has resumed office, and the ANP, which though small, has been content to be loyal ally so long as the PPP is content to be in the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The government has abandoned even a semblance of principle in its scramble to ensure its survival by maintaining its majority, but this policy is clearly making it run the risk of a backbench rebellion which could lead to the very situation it is working so hard to avoid: collapse, followed by fresh elections. Apart from that very real danger, the MQMs resentment of the killings in Karachi is also a danger sign for the government. The ANPs resentment, seen in the speech by its MNA Pervez Khan, seemed to have to do more with the Karachi situation, where the interference of Interior Minister Rehman Malik seems to have raised hackles among Karachites, for he was also strongly crticised by the MNA from Lyari, Nabeel Gabol of the PPP, and a former Cabinet colleague of Mr Maliks. The government is paying the price of not having focused on solving the peoples problems, to the extent that not just allies have got out of the coalition, but those partners, which have remained, are trying to distance themselves from government policies. Paradoxically, less of the constant focus on survival, and more on doing something for the people, would have won more support for the government than it seems to have. The government is clearly in grave difficulties if its own back benches, panicked by the prospect of electoral punishment, try to deflect voters from them to their party. Mr Gabol at the moment is probably alone, but the government will be powerless to stop him being joined by others if it continues its present policies, which are designed to satisfy the USA and the IMF, not the people of Pakistan. On the other hand, if it changes to a more people-friendly direction, its chances of success in the next election, which is not all that far off, would increase.