Pakistan, April 13 -- A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.

An official statement from Punjab Police has done little to water down the propaganda machinery relishing the alleged battle royale between its uniformed officers and the Pakistan Army earlier in the week. That mainstream politicians were also quick to be swayed away, with some calling for high-profile resignations and others furthering their own agendas at the expense of national solidarity, speaks volumes about how skewed our priorities have become.

Portraying an isolated event as a full-on collision between two institutions of the state does not benefit anyone but the inimical forces. With a seemingly neverending onslaught by non-...