Pakistan, Oct. 11 -- There are seasons in the life of a nation when irony turns into prophecy. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has entered one of those seasons. Its new chief minister does not carry the burden of a promise but the weight of a police file. Three simple numbers whisper across the record - 341, 188, 149 - each a chapter in the tale of a man now entrusted to rule. Wrongful restraint, defiance of lawful order, unlawful assembly. A trio of accusations that would shame a common citizen has now ascended the steps of the provincial secretariat.

In another age, such a contradiction would have stirred outrage. Today it passes for routine. We have grown accustomed to the sight of public power clothed in private doubt. The very parchment that acc...