OCTOBER has been most cruel to our fragile democracy. It has seen Liaquat Ali’s unresolved murder, 1954’s emergency, 1955’s One Unit move, Suhrawardy’s 1957 ouster, the 1958 and 1999 coups, governor’s rule in Sindh, and emergency/governor’s rule in KP now. This grim record reveals a deep malaise: broken institutions unable to resolve conflicts via reason and compromise, letting coercion fill the void. But no civilian era may have seen them as broken, biased and besmirched as now. A parliament born with a murky mandate has grown up to author partisan laws and fuel conflicts. Courts are seen as partisan players, not reliable referees. The executive uses one gear against dissent — force —true to its hybrid DNA.

The contrast could not have been starker as the centre’s maximal rigidity faced the PTI’s minimal demands. The centre’s misrule and disputed mandate justify peaceful protests on much bigger demands across South Asia recently: freshpolls, free courts, human rights, and the economy. But the PTI only sought the mild relief that the courts had given their leader Imran Khan on meetings and medical care. The centre reacted to even these timid asks with threats........

© Dawn