The tales in the collection, One Thousand and One Nights, have captivated readers for centuries. These classical folk tales include stories told by Scheherazade — who manages to stay alive for a thousand and one nights telling captivating tales until the king decides that she will make him happier alive than dead. King Shahryar marries Scheherazade with the intention of killing her the next morning. However, her fascinating talent at telling imaginative stories keeps delaying the decreed execution. Each night as Scheherazade tells a new tale, the king decides to spare her life just to hear its ending. One thousand and one nights later when Scheherazade runs out of stories to tell, the king realises that he has can no longer have her killed. Have the PTI’s masters of narratives been nearly as successful?

Reference is also made elsewhere in this week’s Special Report to the Baghdad of the Arabian Nights and the tensions building between Caliph Harun, a dynamic and popular leader, and Ja’far, his trusted friend and ally who ends up being regarded as a villain plotting to end the legitimate rule of the Caliph. Can the ways the reality of the Naya Pakistan has diverged from the dream explain the apparent mistrust between the leader and his once enthusiastic supporters?

In its one thousand days of governance the PTI has faced a number of challenges. While initially the performance of the government had to be rooted in the circumstances it had inherited, at this point a performance reviews needs to be based on the challenges the government has faced, the values by which it has governed, the policies it has spun and, more importantly, implemented.

A leading challenge faced by the PTI has been on the economic front. One thousand days ago, it inherited a debt ridden economy and refused to ask for help from the International Monetary Fund, to fix it. Aids and days later, the economy faced recession due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. While we still face a preposterously high cost of living, economist are predicting a turn-around with data suggesting that the GDP growth will pick up and reach 3 percent in 2021. Another unprecedented challenge faced by the PTI has been that of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the government is sounding a confident note, the Third Wave is still rampant.

The opposition too has completed one thousand days in this important role. It continues to critique and challenge the PTI and appears confident that it can overthrow it in the next elections.