Beyond the notification storm
WHAT has been described by analysts and ministers alike as a storm in a teacup has subsided with the much-discussed/ awaited ‘notification’ now in the public domain. However, the notification does not say what caused the friction, if at all there was any, among the two elements of the hybrid set-up and who conceded ground, if anyone actually did.
Despite considerable speculation about the differences holding up the notification, with some ‘analysts’ suggesting a total breakdown was imminent, spelling an end to the hybrid set-up, there were others who were analysing the situation in a far more nuanced manner and insisting the doomsday scenario was grossly exaggerated and indicative of wishful thinking than fact.
After everything was so explicitly spelt out in the 27th Amendment, one couldn’t understand what room was left for friction. All that was needed for the notification was a ‘cut and paste’ from the amendment, quite honestly. Not much more.
The amendment was in itself a reflection and recognition of the reality of the mutual need for the two rather unequal halves that make up the hybrid set-up, so where, how and why would the question of civilian reservations arise, let alone beggars (as in can’t be choosers) ‘taking a stand’?
After everything was so explicitly spelt out in the 27th Amendment, one couldn’t understand what room was left for friction.
If I ask you how significant the continuation of the current set-up is for its civilian element’s well-being, particularly in view of the last election, where its mass support seemed to have collapsed rather dramatically, when it had to be dragged across the finish line, despite every conceivable odd stacked against its main opponent, you’d say very. And you’d be spot on.
In an indication of how much the PML-N will be relying on one institutional leadership’s generous assistance in the hope of mid- to longer-term political survival and relevance is that the part now notified will remain in place for nearly two years beyond the next general election.
Another strong marker of how the hybrid system would stay in place came in the form of the recent acrimonious arguments between the jailed opposition leader and his tormentors where the language of the exchange descended into wholly unnecessary invective.
He may be the most popular politician in the country but must take the blame for framing his discourse in the coarsest of words and language, leading others to mimic him. This language pushes further and further any possibility of a national reconciliation and also pushes his adversaries closer together into one corner.
All else is irrelevant. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who successfully and even heroically transitioned from being the proud protégé of a military ruler to a leader committed to upholding the principle of civilian supremacy seems also to have had a reality check.
He occasionally speaks to assert that he remains wedded to his beliefs but, having played a long innings that included dramatic comebacks, now seems reconciled to taking the backseat and tempering his rhetoric in the light of the ground reality for the sake of his chosen political successor-daughter’s political career.
His younger brother, the prime minister, seems content with the role of a globetrotter, flying to different destinations in the Gulf, Central Asia and further afield to shake hands and embrace various leaders and sign MoUs which our hapless nation must earnestly wish materialise one day soon in the concrete shape of FDI so their lives are bettered.
Against this backdrop and the taming of the judiciary via two consecutive constitutional amendments, one struggles to see what discord could have delayed the notification. A cynical friend suggested the likely cause of the delay was not discussed in the media. Incompetence.
He says with the ‘smooth’ passage of the 27th Amendment by a compliant parliament everyone whose job it was to ensure the notification was written up and ready from the ministries of law and defence to the JAG branch may have slipped into a smug slumber.
And suddenly awake when the notification, or more appropriately the delay in its being made public, became an issue. “This is how close crisis-prone Pakistan always remains to its default state,” he added. With social media platforming the wildest theories, even the more or less neutered electronic media could not contain itself and jumped in. And the storm raged. Then the bubble burst.
Enough about that. The current set-up may have ensured its longevity for the foreseeable future, but the question is whether it has what it takes to deliver. The country is facing challenges on every front. Whether the terrorism gripping large parts of two of the four provinces is a blowback of years of failed, even suicidal, state policies or foreign-funded and instigated, it is asking blunt questions of those responsible for the security of the country.
And promises of economic growth, when the population is growing at a faster rate than the economy, also sound no more than empty words. The MoUs being signed every other day — provincial autonomy being eroded to facilitate foreign firms’ interest in our mineral resources (‘rare earth’ is the term in vogue) — have not seen too many dollars flooding in.
Even the trickle that is there is unlikely to change the lives of those who are the true owners of that wealth. Another assault on the constitutionally agreed provincial financial resources share seems underway with little concern about the consequences.
Now that the notification crisis is over, all of the above warrant serious thought if the real issues have to be addressed. It is our collective duty. If the word ‘patriotic’ was not so politicised and loaded, I’d say patriotic duty. But is anyone willing to go beyond the rhetoric to do their real duty?
The writer is a former editor of Dawn.
Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2025