The National Assembly, lower house of the Parliament in Pakistan, is in session and the people are watching how their elected representatives are representing them and are focused on the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. They are watching how their daily life concerns and needs are addressed and ensured in the parliament.
On Monday nothing significant about the basic rights of the people of Pakistan was heard on the floor of the house. Rather the day began with heated speech attacks when both the firebrand defense minister of the PML-N and PTI’s leader of the opposition left no stone unturned to invoke Article 6 of the Constitution.
The opposition leader earlier lashed out at the country’s military establishment over its alleged political role. He called for the trial of the Director General of the Inter-Servic0es Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry under Article 6 terming his May 8 press talk as a political press conference.
Mr. Omar Ayub quoted various articles of the constitution and stressed that the security forces must stay away from politics. He read the oath of the commissioned officers in the defense forces and alleged that the DG ISPR went against his oath by holding that “Political press conference.” Meanwhile, the defense minister in his speech validated the demand of the opposition leader stating that the process of invoking Article 6 should start with the former military ruler – Ayub Khan – who imposed the first martial law in Pakistan in 1958. Khwaja Asif went on saying that “The body of Field Marshal Ayub Khan should be taken out of his grave and be hanged under this Article.” Ayub Khan was the grandfather of Omar Ayub.
When said to ask for apology, the minister refused stating that he stands by his each and every word. “I would never seek an apology from those who had attacked military installations, national buildings and disgraced martyrs of the nation protests on May 9 last year after the founding chairman of PTI Imran Khan was arrested.” He said Ayub Khan was the first who violated his oath and diverted direction of the country.
Though heated speeches and remarks are witnessed in other democratic systems of the world, the center of such speeches is not about disgracing those who have left the world or questioning their defense forces. Rather they are largely about the welfare of the state and of their nations. However, the speech of both the honorable members has raised some questions that of course they can better explain but a few of them need a bit of highlight. Are not the parties of both these members beneficiaries of the military establishment? When looking into this question one can find how PTI was raised, how it came into power in 2018, and how even now this party is anxious to shake hands with this military establishment that the DG ISPR represents. Omar Ayub Khan had also been a part of other political parties that were backed by the military establishment. Why does the PTI wish to talk with the military if it wants them to be tried under Article 6? The PTI leader should explain this philosophy to the people.
As far as the honorable defense minister is concerned, he also represents a party the leadership of which could not come to Pakistan if this were not settled with the military establishment. Maulana Fazlur Rehman is on record saying that the former establishment was with them when no confidence was launched. Similarly, General Ziaul Haq has sacrifices for the PMLN. However, the important question in this regard is about the articles of the constitution of Pakistan. People say that Article 6 of course is part of the constitution of Pakistan, but in the given circumstance of the country, there is a dire need to discuss to what extent the articles explaining the fundamental rights are debated on the floor of the house.
Article 9 of the constitution of Pakistan is about the security of persons. It says that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with the law. Pakistan Ranks 130th out of 142 in the Rule of Law Index. Human rights were declined in 3 out of 4 countries since 2016 and Pakistan is one of them. The World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2023 states that this is the sixth consecutive Index marking global declines in the rule of law including in Pakistan, this basically is a decline in Fundamental Rights.
Article 10 is about the safeguards to arrest and detention. Now what happens even to the political leaders in this country? With regard to the common people, the role of the police and other agencies is beyond question. What about the right to a fair trial? Does all in Pakistan have this right available to them? The Human Rights Watch Report In 2021 said that women, religious minorities, and transgender people continue to face violence, discrimination, and persecution while authorities failed to provide acceptable protection or hold responsible to account. The government in Pakistan did little to hold law enforcement agencies accountable. It said quoting a Pakistani human rights organization, at least 1,855 people were charged under blasphemy laws from 1987 to 2021 and the LHC acquitted a Christian couple after seven years while convicting them in 2014. Criminalizing torture under detention is yet unaddressed.
Article 11: Slavery, forced labor, etc. prohibited. The Global Slavery Index 2021 estimates that 3.186 million people are subject to modern forms of slavery in this country. It ranks Pakistan at 8th position among the world’s 167 nations. The modern slavery existing in Pakistan is bonded labor, mainly in the agriculture and brick kilns sectors. Human smuggling is another issue. what happened to those unlucky 700 Pakistani migrants who lost their lives in the ocean when they were being transported to a European country?
Article 15 is about the free movement of people. The World Freedom Index ranked Pakistan at 37th number of 100 in 2021.
Articles 16-17 are about freedom of assembly and association respectively. The US Secretary of State warned that lack of freedom undermines Pakistan’s image and progress. The Freedom Index 2022 marked Pakistan 157th on a list of 180 countries.
Article 25 speaks about the equality of citizens. The World Economic Forum’s report for 2023 placed Pakistan near the bottom in this area, only better than Iran, Algeria, Chad, and Afghanistan.
Article 25A is all about the right to education. The UNICEF data states that Pakistan is the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children – 22.8 million aged 5-16 not attending school. Recent reports indicate that the number of out-of-school children has reached 28 million.
Article 27 says for safeguarding against discrimination in services. According to a study conducted by Gallup Pakistan and the World Justice Project (WJP), Pakistan ranks 126th out of 128 countries on equal treatment. In comparison, India (105th), China (107th), Iran (114th) and Bangladesh (120th) stand better.
However, the first section of Article 6 states “Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance the constitution by use of force or show of force shall be guilty of high treason. This means that any act that directly undermines the Constitution of Pakistan by force or coercion is considered treason. As for the impacts of martial laws are concerned on the development of a country, no one says them good. The military should also stay away from politics, but who will do that is a question?
There are more articles of the Constitution that require the kind attention of the elected representatives to make Pakistan a welfare state, but the above said are just given for understanding and to tell what is required more. Hopefully, our ruling and opposition parties will be more focused on the betterment of the nation. As far as Article 6 is concerned, it is a bit late to invoke it against military rulers. For a better Pakistan, the military, politicians, and judges need to work together while being within their constitutional ambit.
(Senior journalist Rana Kashif has authored this piece)
