FOR more than a month the country has been held hostage to the obsession of two individuals: one driven by the desire to become prime minister and the other obsessed with vengeance for the Sharif clan.

As if this was not enough, a few half-baked analysts dominating the idiot box would have us believe that contrary to what the Quaid-i-Azam stated the constitution is not supreme and it can be suspended, altered at will by a few with clout.

For a country which has endured a humiliating disintegration in 1971, when a dictator chose to trample and subvert the constitution, denying to the majority their right to democratic self-rule, this is a recipe for yet another disaster.

I am no admirer of Nawaz Sharif, but he is the constitutionally-elected prime minister. While people have right to demand reforms, it does not give this right to any individual to be judge, jury and the executioner, on his assumption of rigged elections, in the presence of avenues like the judiciary and parliament to resolve them.

As it is, we are fighting our own self-inflicted cancer of terrorism, where extremists resorting have challenged the writ of the Constitution, wanting to impose their own version of Islam and reforms. It is a sad contradiction if some power brokers justify resort to street power by a few thousand people to force out the constitutionally-elected government.

Malik Tariq Ali
Lahore

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2014