IN times like this, we need people who tell hard truths while insisting that the present state of our politics is not permanent.
asserted
state → need → politics
On the one hand, White House aide Stephen Miller says that “we live in a world that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power”, and on the other, philosopher Hannah Arendt says that “out of the barrel of a gun grows the most effective command, resulting in the most instant and perfect obedience.
asserted
command → say → obedience
What never can grow out of it is power”.
asserted
power → grow → it
In her 1970 book On Violence, Arendt stresses that violence is not a form of power but its opposite.
asserted
violence → stress → power
According to her, power is collective, consensual and relational.
uncertain
power → accord → her
By contrast, violence is instrumental and coercive; its strength evaporates the moment the threat is evaded or withdrawn.
asserted
threat → evaporate → contrast
“Violence can always destroy power,” she concludes.
asserted
she → destroy → power
Pakistan’s present rulers seem to follow Thucydides’ thought: “The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.”
asserted
they → seem → thought
Against this backdrop, they want to reset the collapsed system of governance, according to the minister in charge of internal security and cricket affairs that show clear signs of deterioration.
uncertain
that → want → deterioration
Instead of taking responsibility, he has blamed others for the system’s rot.
asserted
he → take → rot
During his tenure, the security situation in Balochistan and KP has deteriorated significantly.
asserted
situation → deteriorate → Balochistan
Moreover, widespread violence was witnessed in AJK before the recent polls there.
asserted
violence → witness → polls
The first move to reset the system was to promulgate governor’s rule and proclaim an indefinite emergency in a province where an opposition political party with strong public support had been in power since early 2024.
asserted
party → reset → 2024
The reasons given are couched in a security narrative.
asserted
reasons → give → narrative
The KP government had failed to control the tide of terrorism since it was at the helm of affairs during the last two to three years.
asserted
it → fail → years
The TTP had unleashed terror in the province, especially in five key border districts on the Afghan border.
asserted
TTP → unleash → border
Many tribal jirgas and multiparty forums held by the provincial legislature opposed the military operations and the use of drone technology that resulted in civilian casualties and population displacement.
asserted
that → hold → casualties
The protest march led by the chief minister was a political move to persuade the ruling elite to adhere to the Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court decisions to allow access to the incarcerated founder of their party.
asserted
march → lead → party
The SC had directed the prisoner to be treated in a private hospital, in the presence of his physicians and family members.
asserted
SC → direct → physicians
Those court orders were flouted.
asserted
orders → flout → ?
A simple, humane gesture of following the court’s directions would have defused the political tension between the ruling elite and the opposition parties.
asserted
gesture → follow → elite
Two mainstream parties have lost out the most in the KP fiasco: the PML-N and PPP.
asserted
parties → lose → fiasco
There, the state faces an armed insurgency in Baloch-dominated areas.
asserted
state → face → areas
The number of terrorist incidents over the last two years is higher than in KP, and the level of violence against the state agencies, including the police, civil armed forces, and the military, is far more serious than anywhere else.
asserted
level → include → police
The answer is simple: the governing administration there is aligned with the establishment.
asserted
administration → govern → establishment
A security strategy based on force has alienated the Baloch youth from the state.
asserted
strategy → base → state
Even the Pakhtun areas close to the Afghan and KP borders are reeling under the onslaught of terrorist organisations that are exploiting internal fissures in the two provinces.
asserted
that → reel → provinces
Here, we must ask a basic question: what kind of governance structure should dominate Pakistan?
asserted
kind → ask → Pakistan
Should it be the constitutional order envisioned by the country’s founders, where every citizen is equal under the law, due process is respected, and all institutions act within their legal bounds?
asserted
institutions → envision → bounds
Or should Pakistan remain an eternal security state, where justice, lawmaking, foreign policy, the economy, and internal affairs are militarised?
asserted
justice → remain → ?
A state can justify its power in three ways: by promoting shared values rather than imposing a narrative; by ensuring the sanctity of the electoral process and the rule of law; and by establishing performance legitimacy.
asserted
state → justify → legitimacy
The present ruling elite struggles to pass this test.
asserted
elite → rule → test
The current governance model needs a reset.
asserted
model → need → reset
First, true representation can emerge only through fair and free elections.
asserted
representation → emerge → elections
A state machinery that cannot hold free elections loses credibility and citizens’ trust.
asserted
that → hold → credibility
Parliament must represent the people’s will.
asserted
Parliament → represent → will
We need a new and independent election commission.
asserted
We → need → commission
Internal stability and cohesion will remain elusive if questions about the legitimacy of the ruling set-up persist.
asserted
questions → remain → up
Only a renewed and fair public mandate at this stage can settle these questions.
asserted
mandate → settle → questions
Second, centralised control must be replaced with genuine provincial autonomy and strong local self-government.
asserted
control → replace → autonomy
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
