There are a few givens: One, that following November 2021 - some would argue the cracks had begun before that in the summer - the system had broken down, whatever name we called it by. One party, the PTI, had broken ranks and was beginning to assert itself free of the other partner, the Establishment. Starting in April 2022, the country was hurled into a cycle of instability and disaffection which continues to belabour every facet of the national structure and character despite all attempts at force-stopping the dysfunction. Two, the system calculated for itself a period of benign and uninterrupted opportunity which it hopes will give it the time to chaperon most activities like social and political stability, security and economic viability back on a more sustainable base. There can be questions if indeed it is the Establishment's role at all to mind any of these, but the time for it is long past and it is now a given reality.

If indeed we agree to this formulation, the making of which is obvious with a new government since February 2024 and constitutional and institutional restructuring aimed at serving the cause of restitution in critical facets, it needs to be examined how may it be achieved at all. The breakdown isn't repairing and the ruptures continue to blight the social, economic and political environment. There are bigger issues that stare us in the face and will need a national consensus on how to address those. How do we assure the world of the suitability to invest in the economy? How do we show a more coherent face to the world in the face of such a fractious and polarised sociopolitical environment? Are we even a stable and predictable system? Should we contribute forces in an external venture laden........

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