NOW that the drama over the appointment of a new army chief is over, the government and opposition, as well as the media, should focus on the real challenges facing the country.

For weeks, the chief of army staff’s appointment dominated the political conversation and television talk shows, prompting endless speculation on social media. The impression this created was as if the entire destiny of the country depended on who made it to the army’s top slot.

This is not to say such appointments are inconsequential in a country that has seen repeated military interventions in politics and where the army continues to wield much influence and power. But the obsessive concern with the change of guard at GHQ made it appear as if this is the defining factor that will decide the country’s direction in the years ahead. This distracts attention from the issues that will really determine Pakistan’s fate and destiny.

It is how a confluence of challenges confronting the country are addressed that will shape the country’s future. The challenges are well known and so are their solutions. But it is for the political leadership to accord them priority and deal with them resolutely and consistently.

The most important challenges include a deeply polarised and fractured polity and problems of financial solvency, a stagnant economy, persisting education deficit and demographic dynamics characterised by a youth bulge.

The complex and serious nature of these interconnected challenges means that no single political party can deal with them on its own. This should urge political leaders to transcend partisan interests and forge agreement on core issues even as their political competition continues.

But divisive politics and hyper partisanship prevents sustained focus on the country’s problems, much less on evolving minimal consensus to resolve them. Heightened tensions, stand-off between the centre and opposition-controlled provinces and confrontational politics have created a fraught environment inimical to dealing with the country’s challenges. Deceleration of tensions is needed and a cooling-off period so that a degree of political stability is established.