Daily Times

It’s always heartening to hear someone talk in support of the constitution so when the Chief of Army Staff rightfully remarked, “Sovereignty belongs to Allah and He has vested power in the constitution,” he dispelled quite a few interesting political notions.

By standing behind the say of the people, in line with the country’s golden code, he burst a few fancy bubbles of those counting on the impending chaos. Many a time, social media and a few overzealous anchors have Nostradamously talked about the sound of military boots arriving on the scene any time soon.

Parallels continue to be drawn with misadventures of the past where political impasses much less critical and far less vile were enough to be intercepted as a distress call. But while they may still be stuck in the days gone by, the armed forces appear to have fully acknowledged their mandate and responsibilities. So when General Asim Munir stands in front of an anxious nation and assures them that their say matters the most, he is echoing what any sensible pillar of the state would: synergy to ensure success.

There could not have been a more critical juncture in the history of Pakistan that demanded consensus and cooperation from all concerned quarters. Unfortunately for us, at a time when all energies should have been devoted to kickstarting the next leg of the parliamentary journey and focusing on the elephant in the room, our government has overwhelmed itself with an insane yet tried-and-tested practice of silencing the opposition.

While they may try to hide behind institutional independence and letting the law take its course, optics matter, especially when the entire kitchen is on fire. Sandwiched between an unrelenting campaign against grassroots workers of a political party and mysterious proceedings on its leading men, the constitution and its liberties await their messiah. *