Daily Times

Leprechauns are fictional creatures from Irish folklore; also referred to as ‘little men’. These creatures are usually depicted as little men in long coats and high hats. They are reputed to live underground. Since the Underworld is symbolic with Hades which, in Greek mythology, is the abode of the dead, Leprechauns are also associated with evil. Mothers often scare their children with tales of these pixies.

However, folklore has it that, if someone captures one of these creatures, he will grant the captor three wishes. And, since these creatures usually appear at night, they cast long shadows. Not only due to their high hats, but also because they light fires for themselves and, if behind a fire, their shadows are elongated.

Some days ago, our current Prime Minister (PM), Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, wanted to meet the Chief Justice (CJ) to defuse the current tensions between the ruling party and the judiciary, primarily stoked by his predecessor, Nawaz Sharif and his daughter. Media reports have it that the CJ, Saqib Nisar, refused to come to the PM. Consequently, the determined PM, decided to go call on the CJ.

I am not aligned with any major political party of Pakistan and hold the view that all of them do the people of this country damage. In the past, I have contended that, perhaps, the Sharifs and the PML-N have done my country the least damage. However, Nawaz’s determined efforts to rebuild his and his daughter’s political careers through divisive policies that build on disharmony, not only between institutions but also within the party, his vindictiveness and ruthlessness, which brooks no parallel, has convinced me that the elder Sharif poses the greatest threat to Pakistan.

In all fairness, Abbasi has done considerably better as PM than his predecessor. And, honestly, I hold the view that his gesture of going to call on the CJ deserved appreciation, not only for what he sought, but also for his determined desire and magnanimity, in making that gesture.

Nawaz Sharif and his daughter continue on their merry way, unleashing one tirade after another against the judiciary and the military. Whether this helps prolong their political future or not, it is very unhealthy for the country

I am not aware who originally commented that the PM had come as a Faryadi — a supplicant. Surely, it could not have been the CJ himself; surely not. He is the final arbiter of justice in this benighted country and to its wretched citizens. I am certain no CJ could wish to be associated with such a comment. I am a humble soldier who never rose to dizzy heights but, even I would never comment as such.

I gather that the CJ’s origins are almost as humble as mine. Like me, his ancestors lived in Bhatti Gate, within the walled city of Lahore. My grandfather built himself a house on Temple Road in the 1930s, which is the family abode I knew. Surely his tale must be similar.

The PM, on the other hand, comes from the elite of our country. His response was surely made in a fit of understandable pique, but it was far more appropriate. He reaffirmed that he was indeed a supplicant. Pique or not, a magnificent response.

Meantime, Nawaz Sharif and his daughter continue on their merry way, unleashing one tirade after another against the judiciary and the military. Whether this helps prolong their political future or not, it is very unhealthy for the country.

Political science has it that the state has three pillars; the legislative, the judiciary, and the executive. Back in the eighteenth century, Edmund Burke, a British Member of Parliament of Irish origin, while addressing the house, gestured at the gallery where a member of the press sat and commented, ‘There sitteth the Fourth Estate’.

The three pillars of state, while balancing each other out, and even criticizing each other, cannot continue to function while in disharmony. If they continue doing so, the result will be chaos. Even the media, responsible for objective criticism of all and sundry, might be tangential to the entire realm of governance but must not remain in disharmony, heedless of true national interests; which are not necessarily those that arrogant governing bodies assert to.

In Pakistan, our situation is far more complicated. Whether or not the military intervenes, it has a political role to play. In my view, the Pakistan army is far less politically intrusive than that of the US. But that fact is not pertinent here.

Say we liken the three pillars of state and the military to four wheels of a vehicle, and the media as the camera reporting the functioning of each wheel. If any single wheel malfunctions, the driver will have a difficult time. If two malfunction, so long as two are both either front or rear and harmoniously dysfunctional, the driver can still manage. But, if more than two wheels are dysfunctional or, even if one wheel is dysfunctional and not in harmony with its pair, it will be impossible to drive.

We are now approaching the latter stage. One dysfunctional wheel out of harmony is putting others out of sync, with the media’s camera focusing on each wheel by turn, failing to offer the bigger picture. In such a state, the last thing we need among us are Leprechauns in control of one or more wheels; small men in tall hats throwing long shadows, associated with evil but, who can and will grant three wishes to their captor in return for their liberty but, only if captured.

The writer is a retired brigadier. He is also former vice president and founder of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)

Published in Daily Times, April 8^th 2018.