Dangerous designs.

THE army is clearly furious. The events of last week have challenged its primacy in the calculus of power, and it is seeking to claw its way back. It should not surprise anyone that it is looking to respond with 'overwhelming force'.

Past attacks on the institution on a much smaller scale have elicited similar responses; this time, the scale of the attack was much larger. The images of the gates to GHQ being forced open, monuments to heroes being defaced, citizens pelting army vehicles with stones, and the burning down of a corps commander's residence will not be easy to scrub away from public memory. Hence, a decision appears to have been made to replace them with a memory of abiding dread.

The press release issued after Monday's corps commanders meeting reflects this strategy. However, the army must reconsider the path it intends to take.

The ISPR has said the army will be seeking trials of suspects under the Army Act and the Official Secrets Act. Both laws have long been criticised by rights activists and ex-servicemen for being repugnant to fundamental legal rights, including the right to a fair and transparent trial, the right to proper legal representation, the right to appeal sentences and, most importantly, the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Thousands of citizens across the country have been picked up in connection with the violence that broke out last week; many continue to be held without being produced before a magistrate or being charged with an offence.

The miscreants who committed arson, looting or destruction of...