There is a standoff between power and people, each holding on to its domain. In a democratic dispensation, power flourishes from the support of the people. Misuse of power creates ill-will that is usually difficult to bridge.

Without the effective support of people, power tends to adopt extortion methods to fulfil its needs, which then leads to a clash. The mantra of ‘Sub Theek Hay’ (all is well) does not hold ground when people are made to suffer by the misuse of power. For the country to flourish the two must work with understanding; otherwise, the decline cannot be reversed. Irreversible declines invariably lead to a collapse.

Major course correction is needed before it is too late.

I remember the fall of the all-powerful Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan. After completing ten years in power, he decided to celebrate his decade of progress. Little did he know it would prove to be the decay of his rule. While it was the best of times for few, it was the worst of times for many.

When people took to the streets he was baffled. All was not well as he was made to believe by the sycophants that surrounded him. By March 1969, he was powered out by the powerful as he had lost public trust and support. It was indeed a sad ending for an individual who had supported his master’s will against the will of the people he was required to serve. His “Friends not Masters, a Political Autobiography” failed to restore the people’s trust in him.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) emerged from the ashes of the Ayub........

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