Daily Times

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana in his masterpiece The Life of Reason. Unfortunately, neither those who are at the helm of affairs in Pakistan nor the national institutions have been able to learn from past follies. The result is that we are stuck in a vicious cycle of repeating the same mistakes, time and again, which proved to be detrimental to our country in the past. The judiciary, the executive and the legislature are once again embroiled in a tug of war often going out of their way to assert supremacy of the respective institutions.

The recent reference filed by the government against judges of the superior judiciary, including Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who in in line to become the Chief Justice of Pakistan, has stirred a new controversy.

In a short span of time after the dismissal of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court by the Supreme Judicial Council, Justice Isa is in the crosshairs of the government. Some quarters are linking the reference to his incisive judgement pertaining to the Faizabad sit-in by the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan and the alleged role of certain state agencies. The response of the government was pretty vehement when the review petition was filed. It openly accused the apex court judge of being biased.

Additional Attorney General Zahid F Ebrahim has resigned in protest, calling the reference an attempt to “browbeat the judiciary.” Adding more weight to Justice Isa’s side are statements emanating in his favour from the bar associations of the Supreme Court, the Sindh High Court and the Balochistan High Court. All have vowed to stand behind the apex court judge.

Today, personalities appear larger than the institutions. When personalities outgrow institutions, institutions are run not by the book

Another front is open between the legislature and the executive. The opposition and treasury benches are on the brink of a major face-off. It is only a matter of time that protests that, at the moment, have the form of walkouts might turn into street agitation. The recent incident involving Pushtun Tahaffuz Movement and the army has deepened the chasm. The parliament is more divided now than ever in the past 10 months. Bilawal Bhutto’s demand that the Speaker of the National Assembly issue production orders for the detained PTM leaders is going to raise the mercury. The government is adamant that it will not accede to such a demand. The intransigence of the government combined with its ineptness is making the matters worse. There is an impression that the government is actually not in the driving seat, and is merely waiting and watching the deep state run the business.

The fourth pillar of the state known as media has been crippled beyond recognition. The impact is most profound on the electronic media. News channels that sprouted up like mushrooms after rains look like they could vanish as quickly. To survive the pressure, most of the channels have taken to self-censorship.

The Constitution of Pakistan has given the power and mandate to all pillars of state, but it seems that our institutions have, once again, lost their way. Today, some personalities have become larger than national institutions. When personalities outgrow institutions, the institutions are no longer run by the book. The worst thing about egotism is that it trickles down.

What was once a personal failing limited to a few people becomes the bloated ego of an institution. This institutional ego then becomes malice. The primary purpose of the institution then changes to ensure its supremacy.

Why are we doing this again, and why do we expect a different outcome this time? The biggest onus in the truculent environment is on the government. As far as the PTM is concerned, the government should take its head out of the sand, and play a proactive part to defuse the tension. Military solutions are never the answer. We saw that after the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in 2006. Time is running out, and the government is out of options. If prudent steps are not taken Pakistan will be the ultimate loser.

The writer is a freelancer