Daily Times

Daggers are drawn like the two sides are ready for a major showdown. The proverbial page that we were told repeatedly about; has been missing for a long, long time. The two sides have been at odds for several years. Taking a convenient and pre-set template from our nightly media, for the sake of convenience, let’s call one the political government and the other, ‘Security Establishment.’

The ongoing tussle between the two has brought us where we are. Nothing much has changed, when it comes to the core issue and indications are that not much will change, regardless of the tall claims from the former. The constant tug of war is weakening the overly stretched edifice, but course correction is not even in the nearest horizon.

Why is there so much pessimism, which your truly considers realism, you may wonder. Simply speaking, we have not read our real history to begin with, so learning from it, is a futile expectation. A three-time elected Premier was sent packing on debatable grounds by the apex court. Whether he is responsible for his fate; yes in capital letters. Not a single right-minded person would object to the concept of accountability, but selective accountability, rather than delivering the right message to the society, tends to do the opposite.

The digestive aid of ‘accountability’ has been sold and resold to this sorry nation, time and again and its efficacy is self-speaking. What makes you think that it will be any different from the prior ones?

The tube has been on serious over time adding fuel to the fire, by first peddling the idea of tension between the two pillars with appropriate back ground music, and lately replacing the phrase with “fear of collision between the two pillars.” Some of the nightly ring masters who head the “chat circus” on the tube, did even bring the possibility of “extra constitutional measures” to release the ever-mounting pressure.

If the rumor had no merit, then why did a journalist bring it up as a question to the Director General (DG) of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). The astute DG, now well versed in the political acumen, gave an extremely politically correct response. If you pause for a moment, and try to analyse this whole over blown situation, it simply boils down to lack of trust and effective communication between the political end and the security establishment.

If you pause for a moment, and try to analyse this whole overblown situation, it simply boils down to lack of trust and effective communication between the political end and the security establishment

The former Prime Minister has been complaining of a conspiracy in his fiery speeches, after his ouster. The Security Establishment, has been detaching itself from the verdict, rendered by the apex court. The analysts and the pundits who have their personal axes to grind or have severe disdain for any civil dispensation, are squarely blaming the former Premier for this fiasco. No denying, that former Prime Minister is not accepting his unceremonious dismissal lightly, and has decided to fight back in whatever capacity he has. After all it is the question of his political survival and legacy.

Emotions are perhaps higher on his end and his reasoning is stuck on ‘why was I removed from my office.’ In pursuit of reasons behind that painful why, Mr Sharif has embarked on a mission to establish the sanctity of the vote. The jury is still out on the validity of his questionable, yet principled stance. The former PM is trying to send the signals of being down, but not completely out.

The rallies from Islamabad to Lahore and the speeches along the way, have been sending those vibrant signals to the powers, that Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) vote base is intact. The hasty constitutional amendment paving the way for the ousted Prime Minister to head his party again as a party President, indicates defiance. The criticism on such actions is due and justified.

Conventional wisdom would dictate that the 68-year-old former PM should have hung his hat and perhaps spent the rest of his life, shopping at Harrods and taking strolls at the Hyde Park. This would have been the most amicable scenario. The pundits would have cheered such a scenario, had the baton been handed over to the younger brother. Amazingly the younger brother is considered more pragmatic and practical and more acceptable to the powers that matter. Despite the initial announcement, this is not one of the possibilities.

Following the ouster, the overly anxious pundits were hyper ventilating in anticipation of who would take the office. Once PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s name made it on the wires, these folks chilled for a few days. Now the same folks have an issue with him, because he is getting his cues from the former Prime Minister. This is a tough crowd and a very hard one to please. Had the same Shahid Khaqan Abbasi been a ‘puppet’ Prime Minster of a dictator, none of these pundits would have such fits of anxiety.

Rather than focusing on the elections ahead, every effort and trick is being used to undermine the current government and demands are being made to head towards early polls. The early polls would be a recipe to another disaster, as an undertaking of such magnitude, conducted in haste would bring more headaches than alleviating them.

Though nothing is set in stone in our extra ordinarily unique political landscape, let’s quickly address a couple of myths that are peddled by our overly ‘independent and unbiased’ media. The possibility of that ‘extra constitutional measure’ was categorically refuted by the DG of ISPR himself. But purely from a rational standpoint, the Constitution does not allow any such adventurism any longer.

Next the relations with United States are not as rosy as they were in all such prior interventions. Last, but not least, there is no possibility of any collision. How could that be possible? Where the balance of powers is so uneven. Come to think of it, this is the core issue. At least one of the sides, is not willing to tip the scale a bit further towards the other.

The writer is a Pakistani-US mortgage banker. He can be reached at dasghar@aol.com and on Twitter @dasghar

Published in Daily Times, October 26^th 2017.