WHAT has been perplexing throughout the passage of the 27th Amendment to the Constitution is the bizarre silence of the country’s political opposition. Given that the amendment touched upon several contentious issues, a strong and diverse opposition in parliament would have given the government a run for its money, especially when passing an amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both houses separately.

The political parties’ willingness to allow the incumbents and the powers that be to fundamentally alter the Constitution has roots in their focus on somehow regaining political power and on securing acquittal for their leaders. The obstinate insistence of the main political party on either being in power or refusing to work for the nation deserves due condemnation.

Since the ouster of the party from power, it has insisted on an utter disregard for the political process and has refused to be a fierce opposition — that it could — and stand in the way of the hybrid regime to prevent it from taking retrogressive actions against democracy in the country. This makes the party complicit in the democratic backsliding that has been ‘achieved’ by the hybrid dispensation ruling the country for the last few years.

Abdul Karim
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2025