Brutalised society.

WHAT a week it has been, dominated by allegations and denials.

Imran Khan and others in the PTI march came under a gun attack. We heard the fire of bullets, we saw the blood and so did the ones in power, so the condemnations came swiftly and from all over. But once the PTI wanted to name names, the government seemed to be having second thoughts about the event itself. Did it even happen? Or did Khan do it himself? Questions are being raised.

And the more Khan accuses the government, and more, the more the government, and more, deny it. But only if the allegations and denials ended here.

Azam Swati, a PTI senator, who is already alleging torture (which has also been denied) said he and his wife were sent a recording of a private moment. But the FIA denied it was any such thing. The agency was quick to use international-level forensics to judge the video was a 'deep fake' and there the matter rests.

We can only laugh and cry at what stands out as our brutalisation.

Now if there are questions about who created this video and why and who distributed it and how, these can only be investigated if the senator files a complaint.

The forensic analysis can be done immediately but the rest is to wait till the complainant comes forward. But the story had more twists and turns to offer.

Editorial: Serious allegations

Swati also added that the alleged video was made when he stayed at the Supreme Court housing in Balochistan but the apex court denied it, arguing that only judges can stay there - for rules are rules in Pakistan and never are they broken - and claimed the senator stayed at the judicial academy housing. But this claim was a bit much for the judicial academy which then denied it had housing facilities anymore. Here, it is hard to tell who will have to apply to whom or to which organisation to determine who stayed where in Quetta.

Khan wants to ask the army chief and the Supreme Court questions and the government only wants to ask Khan some questions. They all seem to be in the mood for Neelam Ghar or Kaun Banega....

The establishment only reacts - mostly through press releases and occasionally a press conference. They may be well intentioned but then given the mood we are in, their words tend to be treated with scepticism which grows proportionally to one's distance from Constitution Avenue. Doubting Thomases are growing in number.

But the reason for this back and forth and allegations and denials is the larger breakdown. There are no...