PRIME Minister Gilani adopted the high moral ground by declaring that if his wife had been a beneficiary of the NRO, he would resign. The NAB also issued a clarification but the disturbing question is why the name was there in the first place if she never was a NRO beneficiary on her loans' issue. The PM himself used the legal recourse of the courts to fight the cases of graft against him and clear his name. Whatever his shortcomings the Premier certainly is not in the same shadowy league of the NRO beneficiaries. And his emphasizing this difference also reflects his negative view of the NRO. However, the whole issue relating to the beneficiaries' list revealed once again the chaos and lack of direction that prevails in the government. There are simply too many centres of power it would appear and no central governing authority. So the list which the PM wanted to give to parliament was instead kept under lock and key by Law Minister Sindhu - by his own admission. Now how did he arrive at this decision and why was he not privy to the PM's publicly stated intent? One could be cynical and attribute this to the PM and his cabinet as a deliberate attempt to confuse and fool the people, were it not for one factor. This is the same chaos and mismanagement that had been evident in the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai terror incident; that cost Pakistan dearly in terms not only of image but also of revealing to the other side the decision-making incoherence prevailing in Pakistan. Unfortunately, despite the passage of time, no lessons have been learnt by the decision makers and their managers in terms of governing and administration. The dysfunctional syndrome continues to define the government today. There is a disconnect within the government itself amongst its various component parts. In its wake it embarrasses those who should not have any murky shadows haunting them; but this dysfunctionalism also causes more serious and substantive governing problems which add to the perception of a total absence of governance.