by Zia Sarhadi (News & Analysis, Crescent International Vol. 54, No. 9, Rabi' al-Thani, 1446)
October 20 and 21, 2024 will go down as some of the darkest days in Pakistan’s tortuous history. They may even surpass the ignominy of December 16, 1971 when more than 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered to the invading Indian army. It was a surrender of monumental proportions never before witnessed in history.
What exactly happened on October 20 and 21? After weeks of delays, the army-imposed political dispensation presented a bill, referred to as the 26th amendment to the constitution, in the Senate. It was hurriedly passed after several senators were kidnapped earlier and held incommunicado until the day of the senate vote.
The so-called amendment was then presented to parliament, another illegal institution filled by rapists, crooks and murderers. After several hours of vacuous speeches, the amendment was “passed”.
What is the 26th amendment? It is not an amendment per se but abrogation of the constitution, an illegal act. It drastically curtails the powers of the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court. Hitherto, the senior most judge would take over as chief justice upon retirement of his predecessor.
Under the so-called amendment, a parliamentary committee would now choose from the five senior-most judges the new chief justice. Further, the Supreme Court’s powers have been curtailed by constituting a new federal court whose top judge would be appointed by the prime minister.
This new court has been given the title of ‘Constitutional Court’—think of dark humour—and will be subservient to the prime minister. Any judge ruling according to the law or conscience will be consigned to some remote area, again on orders of the prime minister. The judiciary has thus been made subservient to the political class which in turn takes its orders from the army.
The army chief has signalled, yet again, that he is the boss and can do whatever he likes with whomever he likes. Legality has no meaning. Since he has 700,000 troops under his command, he uses them to terrorise the people.
More on this later but first, let us consider why it became necessary to assault the judiciary in complete violation of the constitution? The judiciary’s independence is one of the fundamental pillars of the constitution. It cannot be curtailed or tempered with, just like the people’s fundamental right to freedom and dignity.
All this can be traced to the illegal ouster from power of Imran Khan on April 9, 2022. It was engineered by the army and the intelligence agency, the ISI, on orders of the Americans. Parliamentarians were bought in the most brazen manner to withdraw support from Imran Khan’s party in parliament.
The army thought that once out of office, Imran Khan would be forgotten by the people. This had happened to all his predecessors. To the army’s dismay, it did not happen. Instead, Imran Khan’s popularity soared. He was not only able to mobilize the masses but also challenged the hundreds of cases against him, all bogus, in court.
While most judges at different levels succumbed to army/ISI pressure, some justices especially in the higher judiciary have stood their ground. They overturned the cases against Imran Khan who was illegally detained on August 5, 2023 and thrown in a stinking cell reserved for murderers.
Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI), clear winner in the February 8, 2024 general election, was denied power. Army goons attacked polling stations in full view of television cameras and stole the ballot boxes. The Pakistan Muslim League (N), the party led by Nawaz Sharif which won barely 20 seats in a 342-seat parliament, was installed in power.
The PTI challenged this in court and the matter ended up in the Supreme Court. The top court ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to retore PTI’s seats, especially relating to reserved seats. The ECP refused to comply. It was about to be charged with contempt of court when the army struck, drastically curtailing the court’s powers.
Pakistan today is under de facto martial law. The goons in uniform do not declare it openly because it will have international repercussions with a country teetering on the brink of economic collapse. Instead, the army hides behind its civilian puppets who are the most debauched and immoral bunch of criminals.
Let us name them. Nawaz Sharif heads the PML-N and although he holds no official government position, he is the de facto ruler of Pakistan. His younger brother Shahbaz Sharif is prime minister while his daughter Maryam Safdar is chief minister of Punjab. Shahbaz Sharif is responsible for the murder of dozens of people in Lahore in February 2014 when he was Punjab chief minister. Maryam Safdar is a vulgar woman unfit for any office.
Then there is the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) whose head, Asif Ali Zardari has ensconced himself as president. This is his second stint in the presidency. A certified crook, he is also a murderer. He had his brother Murtaza Bhutto and wife Benazir Bhutto murdered. He has escaped justice.
Zardari’s offspring, Bilawal Zardari (gender unknown), is a confirmed homosexual. This will win him brownie points in the west but in a conservative society like Pakistan, it is definitely unacceptable.
Another permanent fixture of Pakistani politics is a character called Fazlur Rahman, better known is maulana diesel because of his notoriety in smuggling diesel fuel from Iran. He is a man for all seasons, always able to wriggle his ponderous bulk into the party in power. He is as slippery as an eel.
It is these despicable characters that the army likes to play with because they can be installed and removed from power at their whim. This criminal syndicate is willing to play the army’s game to remain close to the corridors of power. That is where money is made. In Pakistan, politics is about making money. It has nothing to do with serving the people.
For its part, the army is unable to defend the country’s border. Mention India and the generals wet their pants. Instead, they feel the itch to frequently attack their own people. It has launched murderous campaigns against the people of Baluchistan and KPK.
Thousands of youth, especially in Baluchistan have been kidnapped and simply disappeared. They are referred to as “missing persons”. Nobody knows whether they are dead or alive. The army refuses to provide any information about them.
The Pakistan army acts as an army of occupation. The generals have become billionaires. Their children and family members have bought properties abroad and most of them also have foreign citizenship. Their only interest in Pakistan is to suck the blood of the people. Anyone questioning their plunder is branded a traitor and thrown in jail.
The army goons kidnap people’s wives, sisters and mothers and subject them to the most horrible treatment, including rape in some cases. If such fascism continues, the day is not far off when people will rise up and start kidnapping and raping the generals’ wives and daughters.
Are the generals willing to take heed? Looking at the current situation, there is no evidence that they will change. They would rather destroy the country than give up their ill-begotten wealth and privileges.