ISLAMABAD, Aug 16: The implementation of law in Pakistan still adheres to a colonial format bequeathed by the British, where a citizen is still treated as a subject and has no rights of his own.

This was stated at a seminar organised by Workers' Party Pakistan under the banner "Is the rule of law the answer to our problems" at the National Press Club, Islamabad. Columnist and academic Aasim Sajjad Akhtar coordinated the event.

There seemed to be a consensus amongst the participants that all the talk of rule of law is an elitist concept and is focused on political matters with an urban slant. While in other parts of the country, where people have to face the Thana/Katchery (police/court) system on a daily basis, there is no reprieve.

Participants hailed from all over Pakistan — Balochistan, Chiniot, Gilgit-Baltistan — who one way or the other had suffered at the hands of outdated laws, especially the ones related to anti-terrorist activities.

A speaker from Balochistan said: "That the people of Balochistan should not be treated like kids. It is not the seventies anymore that everything happening in the province should be labelled as a conspiracy of the Sardars."

He said that while speaking at the seminar, he fears for his life whether he would be allowed to walk out of the Press Club freely or not; without being harassed.

He highlighted the hypocrisy of the mainstream media: "It is not the problem of Sardar or Sirkar (government); the problem is that the resident of Balochistan gets sandwiched in the middle of Sirkar and Sardar."

He said that financially challenged Balochi students who don’t have money to pay for their taxi get picked up by security agencies and after their return they are told to petition to the courts. How can someone who cannot afford to pay for a taxi expect to pay for a lawyer?

According to one speaker it is a sad state of affairs that while terrorists walk-free and in a way are part of the power structure, the common man has to face the full wrath of anti-terrorist laws.

A speaker from Chiniot highlighted the plight of people in rural communities who get picked up under anti-terror laws simply because they challenge the local establishment in their villages.

A labour party leader from Faisalabad speaking vociferously against the government and security agencies said: "If a common citizen gets punished for violating a traffic signal then what about people who trample upon the entire edifice of the constitution of Pakistan?"

Author and defence analyst, Ayesha Siddiqa in the end concluded on an optimistic note, stating: "The good thing is that our power structure is not static; it is constantly changing. It has been changing since 1947. So there is no reason to lose hope."