Daily Times

There was more than enough in the press conference of the ISPR DG to take PTI’s main narrative to the cleaners. The US did not ask Pakistan for any bases after its withdrawal from Afghanistan, it was the PM that went to the establishment for a solution, not the other way around, when push came to shove, and the so-called cable from the former ambassador to the US had nothing at all to do with any conspiracy whatsoever. This isn’t even a ‘writing on the wall’ kind of a message; it has come directly from the official spokesperson of the security establishment.

Still, going by precedent, you can count on PTI to disregard all truth or evidence and stick to its guns regardless of any inconvenient facts. The party’s initial response, for example, was that the military also agreed with its position since it did mention “interference” even if it categorically ruled out any “conspiracy”. But with a formal inquiry now due very shortly, it remains to be seen how it wriggles to vindicate itself, or play the wronged martyr yet further, to gain political mileage. It doesn’t seem like learning any lessons anytime soon, though, because it’s already turned its guns on the judiciary, for daring to strike down its attack on the constitution as “unconstitutional”, which will have its own spillover effect soon enough.

Yet perhaps the best thing that came out of the presser was the assurance that the military would never cross the line and interfere in the county’s politics again. That’s a very welcome announcement and needs to be set in stone. Hopefully the DG also meant that not only will there never be a physical takeover, but the habit of interfering from behind the scenes will also end forever. And considering how it has clearly remained “neutral” despite all the recent turbulence, it might not be wrong to assume that such realisation, and change, has already come to Rawalpindi.

Unfortunately, it’s PTI that is bent upon upsetting the apple cart at the moment. *