Opposition leaders in Pakistan condemn rushed approval of laws which threaten democracy

The Shehbaz Sharif government has been criticized for rushing legislation in an attempt to amplify the power of the armed forces and block all possibilities of release of former prime minister Imran Khan.

November 08, 2024 by Abdul Rahman
Opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan speaking in Pakistan's National Assembly on Tuesday November 5. Photo: NA Pakistan

Opposition parties in Pakistan have raised the alarm following the rushed approval of six new bills by the country’s parliament on Monday, November 4. In one day the new bills were approved by both the houses of the parliament and signed into laws by the president. The rushed legislation was also termed as dangerous to the country’s democracy by these groups.

The opposition led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has claimed that the new laws have increased the military’s grip on power in the country and have stifled the judiciary, which is a marked negative development for the future of democracy in the country.

One of the laws increases the maximum tenure of the chiefs’ of all three armed forces in the country to 10 years from its present three years in addition to removing the current age of retirement of 64 years. It also fixes the term of the chiefs of all three armed forces to five years from its current three years and provides for a one term extension for them.

The other laws are related to the country’s courts. The legislation outlines new procedures to allot cases to a particular bench in addition to increasing the number of judges in Pakistan’s Supreme Court to 34 and to 12 from its current strength of nine in the Islamabad High Court.

Pakistan’s National Assembly (NA), the lower house of the parliament, passed these six bills in less than 24 minutes on Monday after their introduction despite protests by the opposition. The bills were approved by the Senate, the upper chamber, within 16 minutes on the same day, Dawn reported. No debate was allowed in either of the houses.

As per the reports, acting president Sayed Yousef Raza Gilani also signed the bills into law on late night Monday.

Criticizing the new laws, Ammar Ali Jan, head of Haqooq-e-Khalq Party (HKP) said that, “the colonial state and its military establishment have won. Politicians have completely surrendered for petty personal gains.”

Ammar called for popular resistance to these new laws saying “time for all political factions/civil society groups who are not part of the junta to unite and launch a movement for restoration of democracy in Pakistan.”

Commenting on the “sudden” move, writer Madiha Afzal claimed it cements Pakistan’s “authoritarian turn.”

This is the second time in less than a month that the Pakistan’s parliament has been accused of passing legislations with serious implications for the country’s political system without following the basic procedures and allowing debate and discussion amongst all political forces.

The government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had similarly pushed for crucial amendments in the country’s constitution last month amidst the allegations of arms twisting, pressure and threats to members of the parliament opposed to the bill.

Despite objections, the Pakistan parliament hurriedly approved the 26th amendment bill on October 21. The opposition has already filed a review petition against it.

The amendment fixed the term of the country’s Supreme Court chief justice for three years and gave powers to the parliament to appoint judges. PTI claimed it was done to thwart the opportunity for a judge favorable to former prime minister Imran Khan to become chief justice.

Khan has been slapped with hundreds of cases since his removal from power in March 2022. He was convicted and later arrested in August 2022. He remains in jail despite that most of his convictions have been overturned by the higher courts in the following months. PTI claims his continued incarceration is politically motivated.