The biggest casualty of that state of mind and affairs is that the system is unable to gauge what the man on the street is thinking or contemplating with reference to the micro-management of his or her own life, and how he or she views the way macro-management is being undertaken by the establishment, the political government or the administration.

The rule of law, the impression that all are equal before the regulations, and the need to recognise the mandate of the people at every tier of elections—be they national, provincial or city-based—are the basic ingredients that need the attention of the ruling establishment, as well as the major components of the state, be they the administration, the legislature or the judiciary.

Such truth and reconciliation on the part of the system might deliver the goods, or at least set into motion the needed process, where the organs of the state, such as the government, legislature and judiciary, can play their respective parts.

It was almost a month ago when the federal interior minister, reputed to be close to the civil and military establishment, argued that the way out was simple: divide the country and the current federating units into further units called provinces, as small as an administrative division, so that things could be managed more efficiently.

That statement did trigger responses from a wide spectrum of the political landscape, as well as the media and intelligentsia. As things stand, the debate has died down, at least in the public domain. There are fair chances that, in the corridors of power, these matters........

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