The political culture of a country always evolves. But not necessarily in a positive direction. As elsewhere in the world, politics in Pakistan has long had unseemly dimensions. Political leaders have often acted from a zero-sum view of political competition and were far from respectful of their opponents.
However, the political culture in the country today is a departure from the past in many respects. Even if some features were present earlier, they were not as dominant as they are now. Today both the language used by political leaders and their conduct have fostered an environment that is permeated by such extreme positions and incendiary rhetoric as to render any meaningful political conversation impossible.
Rarely has the public discourse sunk to the low level that it has now. True that past political behaviour also exhibited some of these traits. But it is their pronounced nature and the angry environment that politicians are playing off and reinforcing as well as…