I must concede at the outset that I am increasingly sickened at the enormous capacity for the macabre on the part of our political leaderships and their cronies and foot-soldiers. Otherwise, how would one explain the nauseating circus which is enacted with crass monotonousness outside the courtroom every time there has been a hearing? One explanation could be that some political hierarchies perceive there is a real-time danger threatening them, their anointed successors and their hold on power. Consequently, they stoop to espouse a degenerate approach and slide to a low level of self-esteem is their chosen mechanism to salvage their lot. This is accomplished through a band of discomfiting foot-soldiers some of whom howl in an attempt to consolidate their tenuous hold on power echelons, while others are engaged in an embarrassing onslaught seeking ministerial portfolios. There is quarrelsome jostling for even the rostrum to speak to the press as also their respective right to use it first. In the process, they put on public display the worst facet of their insatiable lust for the elevated status they are either enjoying, or craving for. Nehal Hashmi is a lowly pedestrian of the Sharif clan. He can’t move a limb without a nod from the boss. He is merely a court jester personifying the Prime Minister’s sentiments As a comical side-kick of the provocation syndrome, Hussain Nawaz expressed his lack of faith in two members of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and moved a petition for their exclusion on the basis of alleged bias. The Supreme Court (SC) rejected the request. He also asked that his lawyer be allowed to accompany him during the enquiry proceedings. The same was also denied. The extensive protocol extended to him reflects the obsequious bent of the foot-soldiers serving the ruling mafia. A number of ministers were there to escort him to the enquiry room. They would have barged in, too, if not stopped by the security. This is by far the most accepted and applauded stratagem that these cronies can offer in the court of their emperor by way of proving their absolute subservience to his commands. Lest we forget, some of these very people used to sit at General (R) Musharraf’s feet not so long ago, swearing their loyalty to the dictator. Is there no shred of shame left that one could latch on to for deliverance from the agonies of servitude to individuals? Is there no sense of honour left that it is the state of Pakistan they are beholden to, and not a coterie of corrupt, dishonourable and incompetent marauders who have looted and ravaged the country with heartless impunity? That’s not all. If you watch their hilarious enactments on the mini-box in the evenings, you would know that most of their proclamations are either blatant lies or, at best, half-truths. They weave deliberate distortions to inject devious twists to the subject under discussion. This is in such rare cases where there is an effort to conduct a substantive discourse on key issues of the day. Most of the time, these discussions are preconceived to promote a certain partisan narrative. By and large, such interactions slide into becoming slinging matches between opponents, thus earning brownie advertising business points for the channel that is enacting these self-serving dramas. The anchors sit there smilingly, egging the battle on. But this first explanation has since been overshadowed by that bombshell of a clip by a sitting PML-N Senator, Nehal Hashmi, where he is seen blatantly threatening the judiciary and the members of the JIT of dire consequences if they hold Nawaz Sharif and his children to account: “Listen, you ask the son of Nawaz Sharif to submit his account details? We are the workers of Nawaz Sharif. We will make an example of those who hold us accountable”. The tongue is out spitting venom: “You are on duty today. Remember you will be retiring tomorrow. We will make your life and the lives of your family members miserable in Pakistan”. He threatens the one “living in Banigala” that his life, too, will be made difficult. This constitutes the contours of the other explanation. These machinations fit in perfectly with the Sharif family strategy of bribing and then bullying the potential targets. They don’t desist from going to the extreme if they feel their interests are threatened. Let’s not forget that they were the people who resorted to physically attacking the Supreme Court of Justice Sajjad Ali Shah through their goons to force him not to pursue cases against Nawaz Sharif who was then the prime minister. The Nehal Hashmi show is a demonising curtain-raiser to refresh people’s memories and those of the ones “trying to hold the Sharifs accountable” that they could expect similar assaults if they didn’t back off. The emperor, his princes and princesses cannot be tried. They are not accountable to any checks or courts. They are the checks and courts unto themselves. The gory concoction reflects a microcosm of the environment which is being provocatively cultivated in the wake of the commencement of the JIT proceedings. By upping the ante of the diatribes, they are sending vile threats to the officials who are assigned functions under the law, thereby creating palpable fear and a stark level of uncertainty about the tenets of a democratic polity, and the sustenance of the system itself. This only goes to prove that these rulers are no democrats. They are oligarchic despots and they don’t even bother to wear spots to hide that. Nehal Hashmi is a lowly pedestrian of the Sharif clan. He can’t move a limb without a nod from the boss. He is merely a court jester personifying the prime minister’s sentiments. This method circus carries unmistakable stamp of the ruling mafia. They perceive they could be confronted with a serious threat and are planning a violent reaction like the one they enacted in the past. The state institutions appear cognizant of the threat as emanating from the likes of a Sicilian mafia. They should proceed quickly, and in unison, to nip it in the bud because the alternative will be an invocation to a bloody fratricide in the country. The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute — an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan