Dr Mohammed Waseem is a political scientist. He has written on ethnic, Islamic, constitutional, electoral and sectarian politics of Pakistan.

The News on Sunday (TNS): Daggers are drawn. We’re in the midst of another political crisis. How do you interpret the current logjam. Is Imran Khan accusing Nawaz Sharif of corruption to win a legitimate power game or the establishment  too fatigued with Nawaz Sharif?

Dr Mohammed Waseem (MW): There are two issues here: First is corruption. Second is the potential danger of derailment of democracy. On one side the opposition led by Imran Khan is constantly talking about corruption. He has taken the plea that corruption of the prime minister is a wrong lesson given to the people of the country. He believes that unless the PM is proven guilty of corruption, and leaves his office, the lesson will not be conveyed to the nation.

Then, again, there are various aspects of corruption. One is the political use of corruption. Since 1948, when Ayub Khuhro was dismissed on charges of corruption, till today, corruption has been used as a kind of a bogey. Sure, corruption is also a reality. It is a way of life. People have considered Nawaz Sharif along with most of his predecessors corrupt. It is plausible that the Sharifs multiplied their fortunes by fair and unfair means. Most politicians have piled up their wealth in similar ways. Based on this, the public believes that corrupt politicians must be dealt with.

Which brings us to those behind the agenda of correcting corruption. Who are they? Presently it is Imran Khan. But there are charges of corruption against him too. Ideally the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should have dealt with the charges levelled by Imran Khan against Nawaz Sharif. But, the NAB is essentially geared to go only after the opposition. Under Musharraf it was used as an instrument to go after politicians that opposed him. Nawaz Sharif had initiated the Ehtesab Bureau Ordinance in 1997 to nab the opposition of that time. Since such institutions do not work effectively under an incumbent government to detect its own wrongdoings, there is often recourse to the Supreme Court. That brings judiciary in clash with legislature.

In the midst of all this is the civil and military conflict. It’s obvious that the military administration is tired of Nawaz Sharif. For them it is not simply a case of corruption. It is a case of civil-military relations. It is a case of survival of democratic institutions. It is a case against the political class.

TNS: Would you explain this further please?

MW: Interestingly the contradiction in the civil-military relations draws on another contradiction which is between the middle class and the political class. The point is that the three institutions of state – army’s officer cadre, bureaucracy and judiciary – are drawn from the middle class. The middle class ethos condemns corruption. The middle class people have hated the guts of the political class for the last 70 years. They have a very institutional outlook. They are a salaried class and their tax is cut at source. They go by the book, handle affairs according to the file, and possess a high level of morality. Middle class is the custodian of morality and war against corruption. They have a justification to uphold a moral cause.