Stop playing Leviathan.

Optimism today in Pakistan is a very rare and very valuable commodity. It's rare because as things stand in this country it's hard to predict a bright future for it. Optimism creates a belief in future and if there is a dearth of such a belief obviously there will be dearth of optimism. The reward of the current unstable and dysfunctional political system is death of optimism which is valuable because it is a 'mood builder', an essential fodder for building and creating an enabling and functional political environment.

As a society we must realise that in Pakistan a shift from the old to a new political environment has already taken place. The old political environment was dominated by the political influence of the two major political parties which shaped and directed the political discourse in this country. In the new political environment that influence has waned and a third political party has snatched it from the two political parties and is now the agenda setter and pretty much controls and dominates politics in Pakistan.

The emergence of the new political and strategic environment is a reality and the unacceptance of this by all the stakeholders is a big mistake. The two major political parties are in a denial mode and to survive, compete and seek advantage in the current political environment which has become unsuitable and unfavourable for them, they have unfortunately opted to no more play by the rules. When you flaunt the rules, it no more remains fair play, there is no level playing field and that is not democracy.

The biggest threat to Pakistan in the current changed political environment comes not from the government, or any political party, institution or a leader but from the creation of the current condition - the condition of disconnectedness. Staying disconnected is supporting and defining danger. A political environment defined by disconnectedness allows room for bad actors to operate as all bad actors flourish in such an environment and so does their influence. Therefore, it is not corruption, poor governance or economic meltdown which is our biggest challenge - our greatest challenge comes from disconnectedness and the eradication of disconnectedness from our political and strategic environment. Our greatest challenge is not about dealing with the emerging threats in the environment but understanding and dealing correctly with the environment that produces these threats.

Military is a strong institution. In fact, it...