Writ is like respect, it has to be commanded, not demanded. Unfortunately, the state in Pakistan has been weakened to an extent that it has become a burden. Only the writ of the khakis is intact; that is why their role keeps expanding. General Raheel Sharif can get things done on the ground while Mian Nawaz Sharif and his kid brother Shahbaz can only take notice.

In a democratic order, writ of the state is established with the support of the masses. Democracy was born in the bazaars of Athens when the shopkeepers and traders decided to solve disputes through the ballot instead of the sword. Then came the constitution as a contract between the rulers and the ruled. Each organ of the state was supposed to follow and respect the constitutional framework. Those who do not should be punished through the laid-down legal process—even Socrates, drinking his hemlock, did so because he was resolute in following the law of the land he lived in, despite it meaning his death.

In non-democratic set-ups, coercion is used to establish the writ of the state, but in return the basic needs of the citizens still have to be met. China has a single party system, with the Communist Party of China in power since the revolution led by Chairman Mao. Here is an effective writ of the sate which has total responsibility for public welfare. Executive authority is used for facilitation, not exploitation. Everyone is required to follow a script—the Standard Operating Procedure—and those who defy it are punished. Scandals like Nandipur Power cannot happen as the consequences would be unimaginable—probably the firing squad.

Manipulated democracy is the worst form of government. Politicians who gain power through tainted ballots cannot establish the writ of the state as they misuse the same apparatus to stuff the boxes. It is a perfect example of ‘you rub my back and I will rub yours’; everyone else can take a hike. Interests take over while the rules and regulations become secondary, and the common good is sacrificed for individual gains.

The state in Pakistan is a nuisance and burden which can deliver almost nothing. A sinking ship cannot command the waves. An abusive state has neither writ nor respect; service to the people is the only way to respectability. A few years ago I was walking through Anarkali with my young London-returned nephew. When he saw a policeman in uniform eating bananas he had snatched from a fruit seller, he started shouting, ‘look at what he is doing!’ he had, undoubtedly, never witnessed such a scene before. When on his beat, a policeman in the UK is held responsible for his area, while in Pakistan he can get away with anything, including devouring seasonal fruit being sold on the street. At the end of the day, someone has to pay for his tastes.

As a nation we have been repeatedly abused by our own institutions, the very ones that were created to serve us. Despite being a constitutional democracy since 1973, nobody seems to follow its dictates. Every man-made document has to be updated and reformed, but only after complete compliance. Unfortunately the sacred document of the state has been abused and abrogated, not followed. The qazis, khakis and baboos has all been guilty of disrespecting the article of faith which they were supposed to defend and protect. Jangla bus versus schools, roads versus hospitals, infrastructure versus clean drinking water; there is a list of misplaced priorities, nepotism and conflict of interest. Government of Punjab, under the leadership of Shahbaz Sharif does very little for the actual well-being of the people of the province. No doubt his party, family and business have a higher priority. Instead of providing protection for the life and property of people, the police force is busy with VIP protocol. If this is the state of affairs then the writ of the land being practiced is a distant prospect.
The founding fathers of Pakistan had a vision. They built institutions that could serve the masses. Despite teething problems, they were able to formulate a constitution in 1956. Elections were to be held in October 1958 but were hijacked by martial law. In place of national consensus, coercion became the tool used to implement the writ of the state. As the first generation of Pakistan we challenged this coercion, and forced the first free and fair elections in 1970. Since then, ten elections have been manipulated between 1977 to 2013. Governments that have come into power through disputed ballots have encroached the writ of the state, with the resultant vacuums of authority being occupied by mafias, who are only now being challenged in turn.

Let us stop fooling ourselves—without a credible ballot, there can be no respect for the writ of the state or the people who are meant to be running it. Politicians have to earn trust and respect by serving their voters. Qazis have to dispense expeditious justice and baboos have to keep the files moving without the Quaid’s photos. The state draws its strength from service, for its writ it has to change its ways. The US War for Independence was based on the principle of ‘no taxation without representation’, and they created a democratic state whose constitution begins with the words “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice…do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America”. When will our journey to justice begin?