IN times like this, we need people who tell hard truths while insisting that the present state of our politics is not permanent. 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. What never can grow out of it is power”. In her 1970 book On Violence, Arendt stresses that violence is not a form of power but its opposite. According to her, power is collective, consensual and relational. By contrast, violence is instrumental and coercive; its strength evaporates the moment the threat is evaded or withdrawn. “Violence can always destroy power,” she concludes.

Pakistan’s present rulers seem to follow Thucydides’ thought: “The strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.” 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. Instead of taking responsibility, he has blamed others for the system’s rot. During his tenure, the security situation in Balochistan and KP has deteriorated significantly. Moreover, widespread violence was witnessed in AJK before the recent polls there.

The first move to reset the system was to promulgate governor’s rule and proclaim an indefinite emergency in a province where an opposition........

© Dawn