PAKISTANI politics is a gift which keeps on giving — to the language we speak. And the recent buzzword for the state of politics in our land is ‘hybrid regime’. It’s descriptive, pejorative and analytical all at once; it can be used to criticise any party in power and explain inexplicable happenings.
A phrase which became rather popular during the PTI tenure, it didn’t fall into disuse even after the party was sent packing. The PDM government was described in no less complimentary terms once it ‘settled’ down, disappointing some and vindicating others with its inability to govern.
Before long, the ‘hybrid regime’ tag was upgraded to hybrid plus. Once the elections took place, the plus wasn’t deemed enough and the phrase became ‘hybrid plus plus’ or ‘hybrid promax’. This is now as much a part of our conversations as ‘khalai makhlooq’ once was.
But as a phrase and its connotations it does raise questions. In a country where civilian governments have always been hampered and compelled to cede power to or share it with the establishment, is it only recent governments that deserve to be called ‘hybrid’?
Is it only recent governments that deserve to be called ‘hybrid’?
After all, Benazir Bhutto’s first government was able to come into being only after she agreed to accept that those running finance and foreign policy would be appointed by those who had ‘kindly’ allowed her to become prime minister. Once ‘they’ decided to send her packing, Nawaz Sharif was brought to power in an election,........