IS it hubris or something else that motivates the regime to set the bar lower each time it has an opportunity to put things back on track?

In recent days, various anti-terrorism courts have handed down wholesale punishments to elected leaders and political workers affiliated with the PTI, over various cases related to the violence and rioting that broke out in parts of the country on May 9, 2023.

Scores have been convicted and handed lengthy sentences in relation to cases that were long criticised as politically motivated, built on ‘fabricated’ or weak evidence, and prosecuted without regard to due process. Several elected lawmakers, including the opposition leaders in both the Senate and the National Assembly, stand to lose their seats under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution. Some have already been de-notified by the Election Commission, including the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, in what critics describe as ‘undue haste’.

The scale of lawfare against political workers is unprecedented in Pakistan’s history. Never before have so many lawmakers and political workers been convicted during a period of what is supposed to be democratic rule, and never before have political workers been tried as terrorists. One must give credit where it is due: to politicians who campaigned long and hard for civil supremacy and democracy, and judges who once decried judicial capture.

Unfortunately, these very politicians abandoned their principles as soon as the doors to power were flung open for them, while the judges appear to have surrendered their independence and responsibility. These are difficult times, with no end in sight. The damage already wrought will take decades to heal and reverse. And yet, sadly, there seems to be no recognition or acceptance among even the civilians who hold the present regime together that it may be time to turn back.

At least those left out by the system still have the luxury of speaking rationally. Friday’s declaration, shared after the opposition’s multiparty conference, has sought a truth and reconciliation commission that could probe the collapse of the constitutional order and bring to book those “judges, generals and politicians” who have violated the Constitution, harmed democracy and usurped people’s rights. It also seeks a new charter of democracy between all political parties, along with the abolition of the ‘hybrid system’ of governance recently extolled by the defence minister.

If civil supremacy is indeed what Pakistani leaders seek, this may be the most sensible way out of the present mess. However, given their proclivity for partnerships with unelected powerbrokers, it still seems like a distant dream. The PTI may be suffering, but it still wants the blessing of its tormentors more than the sympathy of their other victims. And this, unfortunately, is our democracy’s Achilles heel.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025