The 17th Constitutional Amendment Bill has been duly passed by two thirds majorities in the National Assembly and Senate and signed by the President. President General Pervez Musharraf has also succeeded in obtaining the trust vote from parliament ratifying his term of office of five years.
The voting in the Senate, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies followed a similar pattern.
The government benches unanimously voted in favour of the President, the MMA by and large abstained, and the ARD parties boycotted the proceedings (with one or two exceptions).
Although there was a deviation from the voting procedure and vote count as spelled out in paragraph 18 of the second schedule of the 1973 Constitution, nonetheless the President can now rest content that the controversy over his office that was owed to the dubious referendum, has been put to rest, albeit by the insertion of a unique clause in the 17th Constitutional Amendment Bill that allowed the trust vote as a one-off procedure, which will be struck off on the completion of his term.
The people can now reasonably hope that the political dust kicked up by the LFO since the October 2002 general election will settle.
Parliament should now become functional and the elected members may devote their time and energy to debating and discussing policies and legislating rather than remaining bogged down in vocal and physical forms of protest from the opposition and attempts to counter it by the government.
The treasury benches can understandably pat themselves on the back at this outcome.
The ARD, which has vowed to continue to oppose the inclusion of the LFO, virtually intact, in the Constitution, should now consider engaging positively in a healthy critique of government policies, legislation and governance, rather than adopting a totally hostile approach.
If its argument that the MMA has, by virtue of its striking a bargain with the government over the LFO, removed itself from the ranks of the opposition is accepted, that is all the more reason for the ARD to fill the gap and provide the opposition to the government that is a sine qua non of any democratic dispensation.
As for the MMA, perhaps the treasury benches should not rest sanguine that there will not be differences with its new-found 'allies', particularly on issues such as foreign policy and the campaign against religious extremists and terrorism.
Be that as it may, the country can now look forward with hope and confidence that the new year that has dawned will see the political system settle down and become stable and stronger.
This will surely enhance the country's prestige and image abroad. Carryovers and problems from the pre-constitutional amendment such as Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth, whatever its value, seem likely to be resolved.
It is not of inconsiderable interest to note that the political instability that was owed to the over one year long impasse over the LFO was one of the major obstacles to foreign investment.
With an impressive increase in industrial production and domestic investment showing healthy signs of picking up, as reflected in increased bank borrowing, any injection of foreign investment would go a long way towards brightening the growth prospects of the economy. That would be good cheer in the new year.