POREG VIEW: The Pakistani media has been talking about imminent political changes for a while. The meeting of the troika – president, prime minister and army chief, on Monday Sept 27 was the first tangible step in that direction.

Zardari, who is facing heat from all directions, and Gilani, who has his own unacknowledged skeletons, are fiercely protecting each other. They have already let a Jatoi balloon to fly and thus made it clear to the judiciary and army alike that they would not go down alone, if it becomes necessary.

Frankly, the army chief, Kayani, finds limited options. On the one hand he is unwilling to come upfront and take over the reins.  On the other hand, no political leader is ready to claim the mantle given the gravity of the economic crisis staring at the country.

The World Bank-IMF prescriptions are a bitter pill the patient badly needs. Even the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for taxing the rich to pay for the flood-hit poor. Heeding these homilies is a direct invitation to popular unrest, which the army also will not be able to handle. Precisely for this reason, shrewd businessman- politician Nawaz Sharif is not firing on all cylinders and allowed himself to be guided and goaded by his Saudi friends.

There is thus an element of TINA in favour of Zardari-Gilani combine. How things will shape up will depend very much on the judiciary. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary is on a self-anointed mission clean up. He has a good understanding with Gen Kayani. He has opened too many fronts – the army, ISI, ruling politicians and the opposition, to become a darling of the middle classes. In the feudal society that Pakistan is, there is no worthwhile middle class and it may prove to be his undoing in the end.