A Nation Held Hostage by Its Leaders

Pakistan’s democratic experiment, already beleaguered by decades of institutional imbalance and political immaturity, appears to have come to a grinding halt. What was once a sputtering process has now seemingly stalled completely. Years of polarisation, power struggles, and a refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue have brought the country to the edge of democratic collapse.
The warning signs were always there. Political actors, blinded by short-term gains and obsessed with retaining power, failed to realise the magnitude of the crisis they were compounding. Now, neither the ruling coalition nor the opposition seems capable of offering the people any real leadership. Those in power cannot face the public with legitimacy, while those out of power appear incapable of converting popular support into constructive action. Both have effectively surrendered the democratic space to unelected and unaccountable forces, giving rise to a system where governance is defined by exclusion rather than representation.
The breakdown is comprehensive. The judiciary, once a symbol of hope, has been drawn into controversy and lost public confidence. The legislature is reduced to rubber-stamping preordained decisions, and the executive functions merely as a caretaker for elite interests. The ordinary citizen finds themselves locked out of the political process, unheard and unseen in a system that increasingly mirrors authoritarianism. ‘A government of the few, by the few, for the few’—this damning description is now more apt than ever.
While the coalition government must be condemned for its Machiavellian politics and its service to narrow interests, the opposition, particularly PTI, is equally complicit. PTI’s confrontational style, refusal to build consensus, and relentless vilification of rivals have pushed the political culture toward a dangerous zero-sum mentality. Their rhetoric has often bordered on demagoguery, deepening the divide instead of healing it.
Recent comments by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur suggesting that Imran Khan is open to dialogue ring hollow in this atmosphere. Dialogue must be more than a political tactic—it must be a genuine effort to rescue the country from its democratic decay.
Pakistan desperately needs a new political contract—one based on humility, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to democratic norms. The nation cannot afford to be held hostage any longer by egos and grudges. The people deserve better. It’s time for those in power and those who seek it to remember their duty to the republic, not just to themselves.