BANGLADESH next door is going through a period of instability in which street protests by students ended in a government being sent home after 15-odd years. The rapid political changes have led to a spate of discussions about possible parallels with Pakistan, spun in different ways to suit the various discussants’ leanings and preferences.
Hence, for one side, the events in Bangladesh were about people’s power and how it can bring authoritarian governments down, while for others it was about comeuppance for those who had once stood up against their compatriots in what was then West Pakistan. For still others, it was about democrats turning authoritarian.
But the spin aside, between the events in Sri Lanka two years ago (due to the economy) and then Bangladesh, where political inequality and political repression for over a decade had created a pressure cooker-like situation, there is no end to questions about how Pakistan may end up in similar circumstances. After all, the country is experiencing both a fragile economy and an unstable political environment.
However, there are differences, as well. For instance, the economic situation has deteriorated rapidly but not in the manner of Sri Lanka, where default led to massive shortages and a virtual breakdown. Similarly, there are few immediate parallels with Bangladesh where a single party had dominated the scene for nearly 15 years; in Pakistan, the anger of the people is dissipated every few years by the........