A hard state?

THESE days we are repeatedly told that the Pakistani state has been soft on anarchy for far too long. This is the considered and stated position of many state officials as well as of many supporters of those in power. Common people may hold any number of positions that one finds distasteful but the same sentiments being voiced by those in power invite both scrutiny and concern. For the last three years, there has been much chatter about turning Pakistan into a ‘hard state’. No one has given an adequate definition of what this entails, but based on disparate statements and impulses, we can gather this has something to do with protecting the rights of the state and the decision-makers who…