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A pleasant surprise to hear Mian Nawaz Sharif say the right thing as far as the military establishment is concerned.

It is a pleasant surprise to hear the PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif say the right thing as far as the military establishment is concerned. The party itself has long been considered a creation of these very forces, with Sharif himself having been invited to politics during the Ziaul Haq era. Over the years, he retained the support of the establishment, with the rumour mill stating that he and his party had been helped by the former at various crucial moments. However, over time, Mr Sharif has managed to break from the establishment’s iron-hold and now has correctly opposed any further extension being given to the ISI chief. Speaking in Lahore on March 5 after a party meeting, Sharif lashed out at the multiple military takeovers that had taken place in the country, including the one staged by former president Pervez Musharraf. He blamed these interventions for the multitude of problems and instability we experience today. This, of course, is a largely accurate assessment and we must be glad that Mr Sharif has realised how things stand.

It marks a first step in the process of correcting the role of institutions and making sure that each of them acts according to the distinct role set out for them in the Constitution. The greater the number of parties and institutions that realise this, the better off we will be in the future. The PML-N has set a good example by speaking out — although it has, of course, made no mention of the role played by itself in encouraging the agencies and military to intervene on occasions in the past. Other parties, too, need to play a part in ensuring that all institutions of state abide by their constitutionally-defined boundaries so that it acts under the directions of the government, rather than being a force which overrides it.

It is important that all institutions of state understand the need to respect the mandate accorded to them by the Constitution and at the same time refrain from stepping into the domain of other institutions. Only when this happens, will we move towards evolving into a full-fledged democracy and hope for progress, or a lasting change that we need so badly.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2012.