Pakistan, Feb. 9 -- Hope tends to lose its path whenever the tunnel gets slightly longer. Therefore, every passing day since the vote of no-confidence added to the worries of those who held democracy dear. When would we come out of the stopgap arrangements, they wondered? The glaring failures of the PDM government in overcoming the most basic of their concerns were no less than a good old squeeze of lemon on their festering wound. As the official caretaker setup came aboard, their no-nonsense attitude towards matters of housekeeping did provide a momentary relief but the question shining ever so brightly in millions of eyes remained: when would we get back to business?

On Thursday, four months after Pakistan was originally scheduled to h...