Political anarchy and institutional degradation

An Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge remarked that whether roads were blocked by a protest sit-in or shipping containers, it was the city administration’s responsibility to unblock them. Earlier, the apex court expressed displeasure over the unlawful protective arrests/ detention of several PTI leaders by Islamabad Police a few weeks ago.

The people of Pakistan had witnessed a new kind of politics in the country over the past few months. The politicians had perceived the public as untutored and layman and each one of them played a new flute and craved new issues out of nothing. The ongoing wrestling between the Federation and opposition-led provinces had become a dilemma for the public while the bureaucracy became a servant to the rulers instead of the state and citizens.

The government officials sided with one party or the other instead of empowering the rule of the law, constitution, and professional acumen. Strange events occurred every day, and the executive, legislature, and lower Judiciary became mere tools for the influential and the government officials started obstructing, eroding and coercing each other and other institutions in the country.

The media, bar, and civil society choose to side with either party instead of maintaining professional integrity, a watchdog, and a non-partisan role in the larger interest of the profession as well as the country. The intra-governments and inter-departmental rivalry not only marred the institutional performance but also rendered the country paralyzed and dysfunctional. This situation made Pakistan a joke in the community of nations across the globe.

The apex court has rightly sensitized the authorities regarding the prevailing situation in the country. The bureaucracy across all spectrums including district governments, Police, FIA, Anti-Corruption Establishments, and other departments had portrayed a highly regrettable behavior by putting asides service discipline, ethics, and social values in subservience to the politicians. Which not only exposed flaws in civil bureaucracy but also revealed the putrefaction of our system. This state of affairs is a matter of grave concern for the public and it must be addressed as early as possible by the most supreme corridors.