Pakistan, Aug. 6 -- The National Assembly's failure to conduct a condolence session on Monday-derailed by sloganeering, placards, and walkouts-was less about one man's death than about the death of parliamentary norms themselves. That the House could not maintain silence long enough to honour multiple former lawmakers, including Mian Azhar, is, in essence, the culmination of a decade-long erosion of institutional seriousness.

There is nothing new here. For years, we've grown used to budget sessions devolving into fistfights and opposition benches remaining empty for entire legislative cycles. Speakers, instead of upholding procedural order, have been weaponised to protect party interests.

Calling a spade a spade, this debacle goes beyon...