PAKISTAN has become remarkably good at surviving political crises and remarkably bad at ending them. Governments change, leaders are removed, arrested or returned to power, elections are held, courts intervene and negotiations are announced. Yet the argument rarely ends. It simply changes its form and waits for the next confrontation. Yesterday’s political battles become tomorrow’s grievances, while every new government inherits not only the country’s problems but also its unfinished wars. The result is a state perpetually occupied with settling the past, leaving too little time to build the future.

The latest episode is a familiar one. The Supreme Court ordered the transfer of Imran Khan from prison for medical treatment. The government subsequently challenged aspects of the order, Khan was briefly taken for medical examination and returned to prison, and his party moved towards contempt proceedings while reaffirming plans for a September 27 protest. At almost the same time, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif again invited the opposition to dialogue.

The details will change. The pattern will not. For decades, Pakistan’s political conversation has repeatedly returned to one unresolved question after another. Who removed whom? Who won the election? Who was denied a level playing field? Who should be released? Which institution acted within its authority? Which court order should be implemented? Which political party represents the real mandate? These are legitimate questions. A democracy cannot ask citizens........

© Pakistan Observer