Eternal Grief
No individual who fostered a system that allowed militants to walk into a school and kill indiscriminately has been held accountable. Elected ministers, members of law enforcement, the security establishment, all get to walk away and blame ‘bad intelligence’.
Judicial Power Play
We have to ask: why does the judiciary keep getting into these questions? The answer seems to lie in the popularity it has attained and the headlines it has generated. We have reached the unenviable milestone of creating a populist judiciary.
The Hammer
For the dissenting voice in Pakistan, the coloniser never left.
Their instruments for curbing political dissent are always kept within arm’s reach by a state whose insecurities know no fundamental rights, no morality, and no limits.
The Black Box
In numerous judgments, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has stressed the need for transparency, accountability, and objective decision-making by all other institutions of government. Yet, the appointment process for High Court judges lacks all three elements.
Our Forgotten Children
Despite repeated attempts to legislate on the issue of forced conversions, no actual legislation has been passed. Last year, the PPP rejected a proposed bill in the Sindh Assembly that would have prevented a change in religion before the age of 18. A similar proposal was rejected in 2016.
The Reference: Part 1
Justice Isa — according to the Supreme Court — committed no act that would amount to misconduct. The judgment clarifies that the President, Prime Minister, and Law Minister had no basis in law or fact to justify letting the genie out of the bottle.
Team of Rivals
This may not be the perfect solution. This may not be the perfect opposition. But it is the best we have at the moment — we will take it.
Orthodoxy
Today, any state that wishes to call itself a democracy, in its true liberal sense, adheres to the fundamental right of freedom of expression — a human right protected by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which Pakistan has also committed to in the form of Article 19 of its Constitution.
Fear
Moral panics, and the culture of fear they produce, serve autocrats quite well. It grants them the fuel needed to burn legal safeguards amidst thunderous applause from the public. Across the world, fear continues to be the favourite narrative of populist strong men. From Trump to Orban, fear is the language they speak to fool people into giving up their rights.
Of Monsters and Men
The law in this country is present only in its absence. If the social contract fails to protect women from men who have become monsters, then women have no obligation of loyalty to the state. The state loses its moral legitimacy. Women then must take it upon themselves to dismantle the structure of patriarchy that has forced them to suffer. Whether or not the state helps them.
Principles of Accountability
Legitimacy depends on fairness. People believe in court decisions if they are seen as the outcome of a fair process. That faith is lost when the process appears rigged in favour of one side so that outcomes become foregone conclusions. NAB’s powers are both structured, and exercised, in a way that gives the impression of selective accountability. The NAB Ordinance must be repealed, and a new system, one that respects due process, the dignity of every person, and the rule of law, needs to be enacted.
Eye of the Storm
Long-lasting change in Sindh can only come about by implementing an effective local government system. To achieve this, it is time for the Sindh Assembly to revisit the SLGA and devolve power in the way envisioned by the 18th Amendment.
The Rule of Law & Hierarchy
The consequences of having a system where the law perpetuates existing power structures is of course the further reproduction of hierarchy. And thus, the law, dreamt to protect all, protects only a few. The rest of the country is made completely dependent on this small minority.
Saffron Colonialism
Seventy-three years after the sun set on British colonial rule in India, colonialism’s shadow still haunts the people of Kashmir. The face of the coloniser has changed, but the domination of the indigenous people of Kashmir is being done using a playbook that was perfected 73 years ago.
Thought Police
The Government of Punjab isn’t concerned about educating our children, but concerned with making sure critical thinking is suppressed.
The Democrat & The Dictator
The youth of Pakistan deserve role models like Ms Jinnah who, unlike Ayub’s titles, earned the name Madar-e-Millat. She was a humanitarian who worked to resettle female refugees from India; an advocate for democracy against an authoritarian regime; a leader who saw the plight of the people of East Pakistan at the hands of the West before 1971 brought it to the forefront.
Green All Over
Most people, our politicians included, seem to believe that Pakistan is a bastion for religious harmony. Members of the Hindu faith, whose temple is causing such unnecessary controversy, would beg to disagree. They have been the scapegoats for pent-up fury by Pakistanis at the actions of India in the past. When the Babri Masjid incident happened in 1992, the reaction in Pakistan was for mobs to destroy over a 100 Hindu temples in their best impression of our national hero Mahmud of Ghaznavi.
Symbols of Racism
Statues that celebrate racism and colonialism should not occupy public spaces. If needed, they can always be moved to museums where they can be analysed according to their proper historical context. They should not be glaring down on people from public squares as domineering symbols of a racist past.
On Our Own
Whether you are for lockdowns or not, one thing we can all agree on is that the government’s messaging has been poor. Adding to the problem at every turn.
Streets of Rage
For over 10 days, Americans have watched as protests paralleling the civil rights movement erupted across the country. The majority of protestors have taken to the streets by speaking the language of Martin Luther King Jr: the peaceful protest.