Around the national cross-party consensus-building leading up to the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, the military establishment and its interests were the only considerations not being discussed by the various political parties coming together to iron out creases in our social contract.

Most of it would have to do with the fact that the 18th Amendment came fresh on the heels of the latest military adventure into direct governance, which had only recently capitulated. In the ebb and flow of power, that was the ideal time to enforce and entrench plural democracy. And it is also when and why the latest chapter of interference in democracy first took shape.

That chapter has now had several sub-chapters. It looks horribly edited, and even has a shuffling of heroes around its middle. What began as Mission Third Force with a captain at the head is now back to being the same old two parties playing musical chairs in the kiddie section. The new chapter captain is in jail.

After brief flirtations with actual democratic agitation, the heads of the two parties are contentedly back under saddles rather than aspiring to be sitting upon them. Ironically, the captain is finally what the boys set out to make him: a popular leader with national support. Turns out, the only common condition in our national history for such leaders is that the boys can't stand them.

The direct price of interference has, as usual, been paid by the people. The same people on whose behalf political and military leaders swore to eat grass in exchange for national strength. Currently, the majority of Pakistan is calorically, intellectually, and monetarily poorer than it was ten years ago. Meanwhile, the civil and military leadership have recently upgraded the private jets they use to travel to pastures new, to find new grass for us all to eat.

The indirect price of interference has also been paid by the people. Never before in a democratic period have Pakistanis been less able to say what they want, less able to go where they want, and less able generally to do what they want. Resultantly, pressure builds without there being an escape valve, no matter how inefficient that valve may have proved to be in the past.

Adding complexity to the mix is that there are too many young people around who are completely disconnected from the current political system. For whom too many old men have spoken for, for too long. Old men without even a basic understanding of what the youth want, how the youth think, or who they even are.

No matter how convincing the people you pay to lie for you are on social media, the dissatisfaction refuses to dissipate

No matter how convincing the people you pay to lie for you are on social media, the dissatisfaction refuses to dissipate

Another problem is that this time Lady Justice has been given a handler with a gun, because her sword was inefficient. Her blindfold is still on, but she is able to see with the aid of her handler just fine, regardless. The historic first mover, when things got too hot to handle, is now an empty marble carcass on Constitutional Avenue, by way of structural capture.

So what happens next? If we don’t suddenly all become rich and happy and begin to love the political leadership we are told we approved of in 2024? What happens if we aren’t hired to fight the next war nor paid to refrain from starting a new one? How do you keep the people more afraid than they are unhappy?

The greatest loss to the citizenry will perhaps be what comes after this chapter comes to an end. When in the next round of power, the captain will find placed before him ready-made levers of control and coercion. At that moment, he will face the most difficult of all choices: break down the structures of capture or sit atop them because he considers himself exceptional.

When faced with the ring of power, very few mortals opt to unmake it. Especially considering this captain helped lay the foundations upon which these levers of control stand today.

Until we get to the end, we must also consider: What is the model here? The dream is, of course, a Gulf-style Islamic monarchy, but the problem is that there are too many of us, and we don’t have any oil under our feet. So what else is possible? A country without agency or wealth, where everyone is still too scared to do anything about their misery? North Korea, perhaps?

The thing with wanting to make North Korea is that a majority of the population must be convinced of your propaganda. There can't be any internet disabusing them of your planted delusions. There can't even be the memory of the internet and its freedoms. You must have a majority of the people convinced that the world out there is more evil and as hard to live in, that everyone everywhere is equally hungry all the time, and that your leader actually is the shadow of God on earth.

And no matter how convincing the people you pay to lie for you are on social media, the dissatisfaction refuses to dissipate.

A storm is coming, just as it does every ten years or so in our country. It may not take the shape of an immediate protest, since you shot and killed people the last time this was attempted. It may not be because of any political action, because the only party actively politicking is doing so without a head or much of a tail.

It may just be entirely unrelated to your capture: it might be the next sugar shortage, the next crop failure, the next wheat crisis. But when it makes landfall, the only really relevant questions are going to be the same ones asked several times before at such resets: where is the jet, is it fuelled and ready, and how fast can you get me out of this country?

© The Friday Times