At a recent huddle in Lahore, with the PML-N top leadership, cohorts and media persons in attendance, the Prime Minister had to tackle a tricky question. Someone from the audience dared to ask the premier if civil and military leadership were on the same page.

The PML-N leadership who never stopped bragging about the civil-military coherence in the recent past and had it almost shoved down our throats could not crow about it this time with the erstwhile boastful confidence. In fact, the real question was conveniently deflected and ignored as such. It was a telling moment indeed.

Let’s step back a little, zoom out and put things in context.

For convenience’s sake let’s stick to optics first. Before Panama, there had been several interactions between civil and military sides at various occasions – for instance meetings for the infamous Punjab operation and at other times before it. Regular interactions did augur well for civil-military ‘cooperation’ as far as the optics is concerned. No Sharif apparently stepping on the other’s toes and cohabitation of sorts working out well in the bigger scheme of things. No “democracy in danger” per se. With PML-N’s vote base intact – and probably on the rise especially in Punjab – and honeymoon with the military prolonged, Nawaz looked well saddled for his game at home. With civ-mil all hunky-dory at least on the outlook, naysayers (it is told there are many) were having jitters.

But the optics went only this far.

It is said that stark differences started to emerge about the authorization of Punjab operation –though downplayed in the public as they were – and they still continue. Who will deal with the Chotu gang became a bone of contention. The civilian incapacity in South Punjab only became apparent after Punjab LEAs’ initial debacle – later bailed out only by army.

Thereafter, as ill luck would have it, the Panama Leaks brouhaha seems to have drawn a line with civil-military balance further skewed in favor of the khakis. PML-N civvies were already reeling from the Punjab operation debacle with more and more space ceded to the men in uniform. They could not have seen it coming. The timing was lethal. After a public display of incapacity of civvies in South Punjab, Panama was the last nail in the coffin with corruption as another feather in their cap – this time shaming them at a terribly bigger scale than before.

No Sharif met the other from there onwards. Make a pause.  No one-on-one meeting? No Raheel calling on Nawaz et al? Yes. Let it sink in.

To the chagrin of civ-mil bonhomie, sadly no top-tier interaction came Nawaz’s way. Or probably his children had embarrassed him so much already that he wouldn’t dare invite his military namesake to discuss the “matters of national interests”. No more. Optics now starts working against Nawaz and all that optimism of yester-days fades away.  

Here now imagine someone asking the PM about his relations with the military.

Damn! He must have cringed. At least he must have understood the question for its true meaning.

He must be very unlucky fella.

Third time in, he was fairly expected to have learnt a little something from his previous stints. In fact, let’s be honest, this time he actually looked content with them khakis in the driving seat for the sake of continuity.

But secretly thriving offshore riches of his progeny under his nose have drawn wrath from every non-PML-N corner, endangering the political dispensation as a whole to the extent that it would take just one khaki tweet to warp it all up.

Damn!

At the end let me say it categorically if I may.

Going by the recent fervor (read commotion), if and only if there is any kernel of truth –whatsoever – in democracy being in danger today, much of it has to do with offshore riches and lavishes of Prime Minister’s progeny.

P.S. Alhamdulillah!