Self-serving politics.

THINGS fall apart, the centre cannot hold. W.B. Yeats's poem is oft-quoted, usually histrionically. Yeats wrote the poem about impending anarchy at the end of World War I, when the Irish independence war was starting, and his wife was battling flu during the last century's pandemic. But the shenanigans last week in the Punjab Assembly have emboldened me to make the reference.

There could be no more blatant demonstration of self-serving politics than the machinations and back-stabbing that led to Hamza Sharif's pyrrhic victory. Clearly, our elected representatives care for little beyond retaining power. The circle of those they serve - never broad - has inexcusably narrowed to immediate family members, power brokers and alleged criminals that help retain their power.

Recent events have discredited mainstream political parties, derailing Pakistan's wobbly democratic journey. Worryingly, all other major institutions are equally tarnished. The Supreme Court's reinterpretation of Article 63A is attracting as much critique as our politicians' wiles. Further rulings are likely to exacerbate confusion about the role of political party heads vis-a-vis parliamentary representatives, compromising the functioning of electoral politics.

As the chaos intensifies, Pakistan is running out of options for how it is governed. We have tried it all - from fragile democratic dispensations to martial law, wobbly coalitions, hybridity, frothing populists, veiled autocrats. In all scenarios, a tiny, self-serving elite has engaged in much extraction and collusion and very little public service.

Pakistan is running out of governance options.

The timing of this political meltdown could not be worse. Pakistan urgently needs stable, consensus rule. The country is on the verge of an economic meltdown, hurtling between bailouts from the IMF and erstwhile allies. Though few will admit it, the climate crisis has overtaken all other events; this year's floods and heatwaves foreshadow mass hunger, health crises, and resulting conflict. The global world order is upended, and old allegiances from east to west require revitalisation. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, and our politicians have schemed while Pakistan flirts with collapse.

Ongoing talks with the TTP suggest that rather than much-needed consensus, Pakistan is headed towards de facto collapse. A key TTP demand is the de-merger of Fata. It is preparing for this by assassinating local leaders and setting the stage of...