FEAR defines us as a nation. It has been cultivated by choice by the present arbiters of actual authority. Unfortunately, this kind of fear has not been known before. It is insidious and seeps into our daily lives. It dictates our responses to survival in an environment of acute instability and uncertainty. A war of narratives is being waged within the digital domain. It divides us as a society in which every word we utter, every action we take, is being scrutinised, recorded and judged by the deep state.

Fear, wrote retired Gen Stanley McChrystal, `pushes us into ideological bunkers`. `What begins as anxiety turns into resentment,` he said, `Resentment hardens into hatred. Hatred strips away our ability to see others as people.

The result is a society riven by suspicion and hostility.` Gen McChrystal wrote this in America`s present context.In our case too, there is a need to shake the conscience of those who rule by fear.

Let`s say what needs to be said. Otherwise, the arbitrary architects of disorder will win the race to the bottom of the precipice.

Indeed, his advice is sound: `When our leaders abandon character, it does more than set a poor example. It accelerates decay. It tells people that principles are optional, that decency is weakness, that rules are for fools. It fosters a culture of fear, where hesitation replaces confidence, cynicism replaces trust, and self-preservation replaces the courage to stand for what is right. When those at the top abandon the standards that hold society together, the rest of us, knowingly or not, follow suit. And when enough people do, the foundation doesn`t just erode. It crumbles. ...

`The strength of our character is not defined by the absence of fear but our ability to face it, to rise above it and to live, and lead, with integrity.

It is in these moments that we show the true measure of our resolve. Fear is not a force to be defeated by force alone, but by the steady adherence to rules that govern both our actions and our hearts. In this, we will find not just a defence against fear, but also the foundation of ourstrength.

I sincerely hope that this sane advice by an American general will be heeded by our generals too. Leadership by insult and intimidation is a bad strategy. No leader has the licence to demonise those who dare to differ. This is the dilemma that we face in present-day Pakistan.

Let`s do what needs to be done.

If 2024 has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected. The `year of elections` had decisively mixed results for democracy. But despite the disparate outcomes, there was a common point the people expressed: disaffection and a hunger for change. The mandate was stolen from the people on Feb 8 last year. The will of the people was disregarded. A coalition of failed politicians was imposed by the establishment and the deepstate.The current dispensationis a puppet regime that lacks legitimacy and can never earn the trust of the people.

The democratic façades and hybrid rules, which emerged from the national polls of 2002, 2008, 2013 and 2018, have now been replaced by an autocratic oligarchy. The Constitution was not only trampled upon but also mutilated through crudely passed amendments. Due process is blatantly disregarded. The citizens continue to groan under the weight of oppression.

The movers and shakers can either persist with this shambolic display of impunity and disregard genuine democracy or admit their folly and correct course by ensuring that a free and fair election is conducted by an independent and impartial election commission so that power is transferred to the genuine representatives of the people. Political stability and legitimacy are the foremost need of the hour.

The next big challenge is Balochistan. Late Mir Ghous Baksh Bizenjo was a wise Baloch leader. He said: `You cannot create brotherhood by means of bayonets, butchery, death and destruction. You cannot create a united nation by force.` The use of force and the issue of enforced disappearances has alienated the Baloch youth. Mahrang Baloch and her otheryoung female compatriots have captured the imagination of the Baloch sub-nation. The writ of the state has eroded. The Baloch nationalist parties have lost relevance in the current environment. Akhtar Mengal and his party BNP-M are striving to regain some political space over the issue of the ill-advised incarceration of Baloch women, led by Mahrang Baloch. A multiparty conference issued the Lakpass Declaration after a futile attempt to enter Quetta during a 20-day sit-in in the Mastung-Sariab tunnel, rejected the `hard state` policy and demanded the release of all political prisoners, including female activists, leaders and workers. The state responded by extending the preventive detention of Mahrang and other female activists.

This stalemate must end. A policy of compassion and empathy is needed. The state must act as a benign arbiter in the matter of the irritants that have caused such alienation amongst the Baloch people. The saner elements within the Baloch leadership understand the imperative of remaining within the federation and of not getting duped by the so-called `independent Balochistan` slogan. Their strength and future prosperity are linked with Pakistan, and not the hostile and ambitious external forces that are vying for the mineral-rich province. However, the minerals and mines belong to the province. The federal government must ensure provincial autonomy.

The Baloch need a healing touch, which should be initiated by the federal government.

There is an antidote to fear: the rule of law.

`We should never forget the Constitution wasn`t written to restrain citizens` behaviour. It was written to restrain the government`s behaviour, said US Senator Rand Paul. Pakistan`s current internal security and cohesion challenges can only be addressed by adherence to the constitutional norms of liberal democracy, the rule of law, fair administration of justice and good governance. The state must mend its behaviour to gain the trust of the citizens. • The writer is a former inspector-general of police.