THE Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar has some sensible advice for the political class: keep political disputes in the political domain and learn to avoid dragging other institutions into the political fray. The chief justice’s remarks came as a Supreme Court bench resumed hearings on a petition by the PML-N seeking the disqualification of PTI supremo Imran Khan and the party’s secretary general Jahangir Tareen. Without prejudging a sub judice matter, the political dimensions of the case are obvious. Barring a sensational disclosure in court or the introduction of some damning new evidence, Mr Khan and Mr Tareen will likely remain a part of the political process. Indeed, few in the PML-N expect that the disqualification petition will succeed; most privately acknowledge that the petition is a tit-for-tat move after the PTI sought the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The chief justice could not say so directly, but it was apparent that he was deploring a waste of the court’s limited time and warning against tarnishing the court’s public image.

The politician’s habit of dragging other institutions into the political fray is not limited to the judiciary. The military is frequently called upon to intervene and it is not always clear that it is interested in or relishes that role. And, in the era of Article 58(2b), the president was willingly and unwillingly pulled into every political crisis in the country. Some may argue that there was a time when institutional weaknesses and the uncertainty of the political process necessitated reaching out to power centres outside the political process. But the transition to democracy is now nearly a decade old. Surely, it is the politicians’ responsibility to strengthen democratic institutions and support them. Instead, parties such as the PTI are routinely at war with institutions of democracy, such as the ECP. Meanwhile, the PML-N government has systematically defanged institutions of accountability.

Unhappily, as political parties appear to be switching early to campaign mode, the unfinished business of strengthening democracy through institutional reforms looks set to be passed on to the next parliament. From electoral reforms to overhauling the accountability process, the tasks are significant and wide-ranging. And while some progress has been made towards a political consensus in some years, the run-up to polls tends to produce either hasty compromises or further delay. If positive change is to come, a change of mindset will be needed first. If political parties stop regarding the courts or perhaps the military as the default options for resolving political conflict, they would be forced to work on improving political and democratic institutions. Perhaps a nudge in that direction could come from the other institutions. And, maybe, the Supreme Court could start the process by declining in future to adjudicate on matters with a clear political taint.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2017