The ‘E’ word

• Ubiquitous yet invisible, the march of infamous ‘Establishment’ continues

Who has seen the ‘Establishment’? I, like many others, haven’t. Yet we, the grown folks of Pakistan, have heard about its doings, un-doings, misdoings all our lives day in, day out. We’ve heard its name in whispers of our elders. We’ve read about its acts in columns of pundits.

We know it exists. And that is it, we only know the ‘who’ bit. What we don’t know are multiple things like its remaining 4Ws and 1H. We are in the dark about where it is, what exactly it is, why it is so mighty and powerful, and how it came to be the enigma it presently is.

The most learned among us say that ‘Establishment’ is a permanent ragtag alliance whose members hail primarily from military and civilian bureaucracy high ups with some elite business magnates, media moguls, select few intellectuals, influential individuals from Pakistani diaspora thrown in the mix as supporting actors.

Many of our fellows believe it to be the kingmaker, the real power behind the throne, the puppet master, the knower of the grand scheme, the watchman, the mover, the manipulator, the saboteur and of late brokers who made the lovers having ‘mehfil’ disperse after pocketing 1,000 bucks each. The role of a broker is recently assumed. The latest trend is that whenever things go south call the visible arm of ‘E’ gang to put them back on track. They pacify the agitated, pay them fare back home and voila, things are tamed back to normal.

We, through experience and lack of any alternatives, listen attentively to those who idolise them and place them right next to the demigods of yore. Doubt rears its head when the lone critic demonises the establishment by blaming it for all that ails the body politic of our fatherland. The truth, like many other things, is elusive and beyond reach. We are Hamlets and we know not how to sift fact from what looks and feels like the truth.

Many of our fellows believe it to be the kingmaker, the real power behind the throne, the puppet master, the knower of the grand scheme, the watchman, the mover, the manipulator, the saboteur and of late brokers who made the lovers having ‘mehfil’ disperse after pocketing 1,000 bucks each

Maybe the Establishment is our very own, personalised edition of a typical evil cabal running the world. A Pakistani substitute for Freemasons and the Illuminati. A necessary evil that fills in the gaps of a place gone awry. This omnipresent veil masks the greatest riddles confounding our lot. Our very own ‘Invisible Hand’ — heartfelt apologies from John Adams-has a role of regulating, moderating, keeping in check a society and state that is through and through mercurial.

It is due to this mystification that in our daily conversation, the ‘E’ company comes out as a creature more mythical than mighty Lucifer, more powerful than brave Hercules and more cunning than the proverbial fox in Aesop’s fables. It is an enigma for the masses, a towering adversary for the politicians, an immortal phoenix that rises from its own ashes every time it is interred.

Every whodunit ends with it. It is the spook from the cartoon Scooby doo who keeps on returning in different guises. It is the devil sorting out the mess one minute, the next it is the most convenient, all-embracing fall guy.

Two examples from the recent past will suffice here. Not quite long ago, a certain Mr Cyril Almeida ran a story in an influential English daily about uniformed folks being ‘told’ by civvies to mend their ways or brace oblivion among the comity of nations. A deafening silence ensued for a couple of hours after the publication of the story. And then, as they say, all hell broke loose. You, dear reader, know precisely how the denouement came. A press release announced the issue stands ‘settled’. It doesn’t take much imagination to know which side had ‘E’ company on its back.

At present, our erstwhile prime minister Nawaz Sharif has assumed the role of shuttle cock between London, Lahore and Islamabad. He, along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz, attributes his fall to the usual suspects (no prize for guessing who the usual suspects are here). The road that led him to the present started with some revelations from a land far, far away, published in esteemed newspapers, aimed at global elite and their dirty, massive secret wealth tucked away in assets bought, sold, maintained through offshore companies. Then the learned lordships, pressed by IK and Co, dethroned him after a tiresome court battle. Only with recently announced judgment of Hudaibiya the sword dangling on Shahbaz Sharif’s head is removed and he managed to survive till next time.

Moral of the story: Merely having a seat on the table is not enough for ‘E’ gang. They must be revered and held in utmost esteem as well. The demands they make must be paid heed in toto. No questions asked. No ifs uttered. No buts aired. Complete submission sans retaliation with the illusion that those who rule are free in all their dealings. Long live the ubiquitous yet invisible Establishment.