WHO was Mohsin Naqvi really targeting—the Prime Minister or the President? That is the central question arising from his much-discussed speech. The debate it has generated has produced countless interpretations, many of which seem to have missed the real point. The situation brings to mind Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous lines:

Ironically, the one thing that was never explicitly mentioned became the very point that provoked the strongest reaction. There is a popular saying: ask ten people, and you will hear ten different stories. That is precisely what has happened. Commentators have advanced extraordinary theories—from claims that Naqvi had issued a six-month ultimatum to suggestions that he had effectively presented an indictment against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government. Some even speculated that the Prime Minister might dismiss Mohsin Naqvi just as Nawaz Sharif once forced General Jehangir Karamat to resign.

Such comparisons ignore the profound difference between the political realities of thirty years ago and those of today. The circumstances that led to General Karamat’s resignation belonged to a very different constitutional and institutional environment. Pakistan’s political system, civil-military relationship and constitutional framework have undergone significant changes since then. Ignoring these developments may make for sensational commentary, but it does little to improve public understanding. It is less journalism than what veteran journalist Nusrat Javed aptly calls chuskafaroshi—the business of selling........

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