Editorial in leading Pakistan newspaper laments country's military openly directing political system

It is a sad time for a democracy like Pakistan when the military is openly directing the political system in the nation, an editorial in a leading Pakistan paper has lamented.

According to the editorial "A Sad Day" published in the Dawn, Pakistan's political leadership has failed to defend the country's constitution and resist the demands of the generals.

Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif said on Friday that it was not the desire of the military to form the special courts but the need of the hour.

The editorial A Sad Day affirms that the need for Pakistan to have military courts once again, destabilizes the principle of separation of power and smashes the edifice of rights on which the constitution is formed.

The editorial urges the citizens to brace themselves to now live under a shadow of the military leadership and find a "coherent strategy" to fight the militancy, and get political and military leaders to work together.

Furthermore, the editorial says that people hope, under a democratic system, that parliament would respect civilian run institutions and not hand over most of the power to an institution that has overthrown democracy many a times in the past.

Nothing prevents the parliament or the government of a country to strengthen the legal system apart from the government itself, says the Editorial.