THE picture emerging from the in camera session of parliament on Friday is somewhat reminiscent of the real-life national portrait provided by the 2008 general election: all participants have got something out of the exercise. The supreme parliament should be happy that after all these years of exclusivity Osama bin Laden has provided it with an opportunity to hold the country's military accountable for its action, or lack thereof. The government should be satisfied with its performance in the joint session, which besides allowing it to work for the protection of national interests, gave it room to forge ever closer ties with the army which is a decisive force in the country's political matters. The opposition PML-N also used the forum to voice its demand for the resignation of the ISI director general and finally an end to the ISI's role in politics; the ISI chief has offered himself for a probe by a commission and is ready to resign if parliament so desires; the prime minister deems the resignation unnecessary and members of the treasury have reposed their confidence in our defenders.

This is not all that has come to light from a session that was to be kept under wraps — or was it? It is obvious that some of the parties present wanted a quick surrender to the public of the information being shared inside the house on the historic day. The theme, as it turned out, was to admit there had been major lapses that let Bin Laden and a few stealthy American fliers in, without questioning the sincerity of those responsible and with emphasis on the need for national unity. After the 2008 election, what transpired on Friday corroborated just how dependent on one another all actors in the Pakistani cast are, notwithstanding how big or small their role has been in creating the mess the country finds itself in today. It is suspected that not all of them may have spoken on the day due to one reason or another, but we have a tradition that can only lead to the posing of bolder questions in the future and we have the trends which can be built upon to make the unprecedented exercise that much more meaningful.

It was not the Pakistanis who were suspicious of the intentions of their defenders, and thus sincerity was not an issue inside the house where their representatives sat. The honest mistake having been recognised and the message of national solidarity conveyed far and wide, all we need now is a sincere campaign to set our defences right. Pakistanis must mend these defences immediately.