LIKE the hapless king on a chessboard, our president flees from square to square, only to find himself being checked at each step. The queen is gone, the rooks fallen, the bishops imprisoned, the knights deserted, and the pawns either captured or hiding. He is supposed to be important, to hold real power, yet once exposed, he remains at the mercy of his more powerful opponents. But the head of state — however titular his position — also cannot be absolved of his repeated failure to assert himself due to conditions imposed on him by his opponents. The Constitution empowered President Arif Alvi to announce the date for a general election to the National Assembly, given that it was dissolved by his hand. He has consciously chosen not to exercise that power and cede it, in part, to his opponents instead. Just as was seen in the half-hearted attempt to scuttle recent amendments to the Army Act and Official Secrets Act, this attempt to wriggle out of a constitutional responsibility solves nothing and has only created further confusion.

The president’s recent letter to the ECP would impress even the most accomplished soothsayer. There is enough in it for it to be interpreted according to each individual’s need, while it actually remains devoid of any real substance. The date that has been given is referential rather than prescriptive. The president does not seem to agree with the assertion that only the ECP can announce an election date, but neither has he disagreed with it in clear terms. Instead, the onus has once again been placed on the country’s top court to decide whether or not the Constitution says what it appears to say. Despite the sustained criticism of our leadership’s worrying tendency to drag every dispute before the Supreme Court — a practice that has led to growing instability due to the judicialisation of politics — none of the stakeholders seem willing to sit down and negotiate a path forward. It must also be said that the judiciary, too, has failed to assert its authority, which has allowed for court orders to be seen as ‘negotiable’ rather than imperative. With the change of guard at the Supreme Court, a new era will begin. Will the new chief justice chart a firmer course forward or allow the uncertainty to prevail? We will soon find out.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2023