I believe that dilution of disproportionate power which has gotten vested in SC came to it via force of circumstances.
RAWALPINDI: This is with reference to Saroop Ijaz’s article “Here we go again” published on December 11. The question remains as to why the SC has assumed the role that it has? A study, in my judgment, more in the realm of organisational behaviour, than balance of power. I suppose one reason could be that once you have suffered the kind of democracy deficit as we have here in this country, a disequilibrium among state institutions is its natural corollary as is also evident from the experience of several other countries, most notably Chile.
It must not mystify anyone that in the face of the rather grim choices which the political landscape presents our teeming millions with, the collective political consciousness of the Pakistanis will continue to find itself between a rock and a hard place.
I believe that the dilution of the disproportionate amount of power which has gotten vested in the SC came to it through force of circumstances, not design, which will be recalibrated as we mature into a democracy; a prospect that does not necessarily seem promising at this time but is one that we are quite capable of learning to embrace.
That said, we, must not lose sight of the fact that, despite remarkable odds, Pakistan has overcome untold trials and tribulations that have upended our survival skills in no small measure.
A ruptured political past, indeed, haunts us but as a young nation trying to learn to walk, Pakistan, in my opinion, hasn’t done too badly in its quest to be able to trot in a straight line. Yes, there are a myriad of developmental challenges but we can fix them since ours is a very rich country.
Rao Amjad Ali
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2011.
