Daily Times

It was only a matter of time, the way things were going, before the military put its foot down and took “strong exception” to the “unlawful and unethical practice” of dragging it into mainstream politics; as it has now done. ISPR (Inter Service Public Relations) did not name any names when it issued the warning because it didn’t have to. From the former PM to the former opposition to popular media pundits, everybody’s been struggling to complete two sentences without mentioning the so-called establishment lately and what role it allegedly played, or continues to play, in the political drama that that’s been going on for a while now.

It’s quite strange how our political elite never seems to stop selling democracy and all its benefits to the people all the time, yet they’re bent upon making the military fair game in their politics right now because it suits them. Imran Khan’s still going on about how only animals can be neutral, etc, taking digs at the establishment for letting his government fall no doubt, and the new coalition government also seems to have no qualms about playing the establishment card whenever it needs to deflect criticism from PTI by reminding everybody of the “selected government” that just ran riot with its handling of the economy. Analysts and news anchors desperate to improve their ratings and viewership have also played a big role in spinning conspiracy theories about the goings on in power circles in Islamabad; almost all of which involve the military.

This trend needs to stop right now. It is not only counter-productive, because it makes people take their minds away from real issues and news that really matters, but also quite dangerous since it dilutes the integrity of not just parliament but the entire parliamentary system. Surely the politics and media of the country are mature enough to understand and interpret ISPR’s warning in the right spirit. *