Context
Senior journalist Sohail Warraich, writing in Daily Jang, reflects on the state of politics in Pakistan by drawing parallels with global thinkers. He recalls Francis Fukuyama’s famous thesis The End of History, which argued that liberal democracy and market economy represent the ultimate stage of human governance. Similarly, Fareed Zakaria warned in The Future of Freedom that illiberal democracies restrict liberties and weaken societies. Benazir Bhutto, in her book Reconciliation, had also emphasized dialogue and compromise as the path to democratic survival, a principle she tried to apply in her dealings with General Musharraf.
Warraich’s Argument
Warraich suggests that in Pakistan, politics is losing relevance because reconciliation was never truly embraced by either political or military elites. He uses cultural analogies of heroes and villains in films or history to argue that politics needs both sides to remain alive. Without opposition, governance itself becomes hollow.
He points out that politicians, the public, the military, and the media have all contributed to weakening the “Taj Mahal of politics” through constant attacks or internal sabotage. Liberal democratic principles were ignored, with different rules applied to allies and opponents, leading to inevitable decline.
Current Landscape
Warraich criticizes major leaders for neglecting parliamentary engagement and party organization. He notes that Imran Khan avoided the National Assembly, while Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, and Maryam Nawaz also show little interest in strengthening party structures. PPP’s presence in Punjab is minimal, PTI lacks organization, and other religious parties function more as pressure groups than mass movements.
He argues that politics cannot be separated from life itself. Quoting W.B. Yeats, he likens politics to oxygen, essential for survival. He also recalls Jean‑Paul Sartre’s dismissal of a Pakistani writer who claimed to have no interest in politics, stressing that politics is “the mother of all solutions.”
Challenges Ahead
Warraich warns that decades of attacks on political institutions have left them wounded. Even if the establishment temporarily sustains governance, eventually power must return to politicians, who will again face accusations of corruption and mismanagement unless they reform.
He observes that the current PML‑N and PPP alliance appears to have accepted the end of PTI’s politics, aligning with the establishment’s stance that Imran Khan and his party are unacceptable. Yet he cautions that if opposition is eliminated entirely, governance itself loses legitimacy. The responsibility now lies with the ruling parties to keep politics alive, or risk its complete demise.