It is crucial to unpack this statement to understand exactly what is wrong with #Pakistan

Gentleman in question presided over an All Parties Conference a few days ago. His stance was clear that country needs to return to civilian rule. Democracy for him is the best revenge https://twitter.com/geonews_english/status/1308756708760657921

Instantly after an opposition conference, he proceeds to discuss and then offer insight about what the unelected military leader would like to see in terms of elections.

So, democracy is the best revenge but we need to check with the military if we can have it. #Pakistan

Under what circumstance is the said election even an election then? What’s the point of having an opposition huddle to form a movement? What’s with that joke? #Pakistan

Instead, the reality is fairly straightforward but often left unsaid.

Nearly every single party in #Pakistan is trying to form an alliance/coalition with the military. There is no democracy per se, it’s elite adjustment that can satisfy the largest set of stakeholders who are represented by these parties which are more like interest groups

In essence then, the only party in #Pakistan is the military and they have to negotiate with interest groups that keep calling themselves political parties. As long as the interest groups get some concessions, they are willing to continue working as a junior partner

A good evidence of this is how not a single party had any issues with the CPEC authority that is effectively the single most powerful ministry in the country which in turn is answerable directly to the NDRC.