THE old playbook had not even gathered dust before it’s being pressed into service yet again. As the machinations unfold, they will sap democracy of whatever lifeblood it may have retained in these unneutral times. Sadly, there has not been much in the way of resistance by the political parties that, in the larger scheme of things, stand to lose the most.

       However, the PPP has voiced a view that should be the default position of all parties that have been forced to contend with manufactured ‘forward blocs’, forced defections and pre-poll queering of the pitch.

       Last week, at a press conference in Lahore, PPP Punjab’s acting president Rana Farooq Saeed said that the PPP wants all parties registered with the ECP to participate in the general election, which should be conducted in a fair and transparent manner so that the results are not disputed.

       This was in response to being asked about reports that the PTI could be banned from the electoral field on account of its alleged involvement in the May 9 disturbances.

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       In late May, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said his party would not resist a ban on the PTI “for promoting extremism and violence”. This, despite the fact that the PPP has arguably paid the highest price for interventions by unelected forces.

       The PML-N, meanwhile, has consistently championed the idea of banning PTI, preferring expedient exclusionary methods to a fair fight on the electoral field, thereby exposing the hollowness of its ‘vote ko izzat do’ mantra.

       Pakistan’s misfortune is that its flirtation with democracy has never been allowed to mature into anything resembling institutionalised democracy. From the very outset, ‘inconvenient’ elected governments, such as that of Attaullah Mengal’s NAP and later his son Akhtar Mengal’s BNP-M in Balochistan, have been sent packing; Benazir Bhutto’s government was removed twice; Nawaz Sharif’s thrice.

       Artificial political parties have been birthed by ‘dissidents’ to fracture the electoral landscape, create kingmakers and produce malleable governments. No wonder that 75 years on, stability still eludes us.

       When will the architects of this dysfunctionality realise that doing the same thing over and over cannot bring different results? If anything, the country will drift into further instability. But what about the civilian leadership that still resorts to expediency rather than recognising its own role in the dying of Pakistan’s democracy?

       Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2023