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Islamabad

Unholy Alliance

It is no wonder that the Economic Intelligence Unit has declared Pakistan one of the top 10 worst performers in governance, political participation and culture, electoral processes, and civil liberties.

By Nikhat Sattar | April 2025


If anyone ignorant of the happenings in Pakistan were to inquire about the nature of its government, it might be difficult to explain the monstrosity it has become. It has been categorized as an authoritarian regime, but one would not be wrong if one said that there are strong shades of totalitarianism and fascism in it as well. Power has been concentrated ostensibly within the ruling elite that takes its orders from the not-so-hidden hands; there is no accountability to the people (having very ably cowed down the judiciary by placing junior like-minded judges in the Supreme Court). And the latter has been brought under the purview of the Parliament through the hastily approved 26th Amendment to the Constitution. This is classical authoritarianism.

Yet the individual has been subordinated to the state and coercive measures such as the Peca Ordinance and placing universities under subservient bureaucrats have been put into place to suppress freedom and control actions of people, disallowing dissent and criminalising differences of opinion. These totalitarian aspects are furthered through a fascist approach by exalting the favoured few, placing them above the law, and curbing opposition through overt and covert tactics.

It is no wonder that the Economic Intelligence Unit has ranked Pakistan 124 out of 165 countries and declared it one of the top 10 worst performers in governance, political participation and culture, electoral processes, and civil liberties. The incumbent government and its allies have throttled democracy to a state where it is gasping its last breaths, and no reprieve is in sight.

In this first year of their government, the National Assembly has had the prime honour of passing a record number of legislations, all without any debate. Most of them were of a serious nature in that they addressed the relative powers of the state vs. the civilian and of the three most critical pillars of the constitution: the Parliament, the Judiciary, and the Executive. Here, the Executive and Parliament have joined hands and have essentially bonded the Judiciary to their whims and desires.

There is nobody to which the affected citizen might appeal as judges have been pre-selected by Parliament. A small body of lawyers and some civilians are braving the wrath of the establishment, which is the fourth and most important part of the Pakistani governance structure. There is no recourse of justice for both lawyers and judges are masters of delaying the dates of hearings. In cases when court orders are passed, they are either to quickly acquit members of the ruling government of previous charges of corruption and wrongdoing or to find Enemy Number 1, otherwise known as Prisoner 824, to be guilty. Hundreds, if not thousands, are incarcerated in prison based on ambiguous charges of treason with regard to the infamous May 9, 2024, riots. A few missing persons who have finally been returned to their families are mere shadows of their former selves, and no one knows what actually happened to them during their disappearance— brainwashing a la Pakistani style.


The International Commission of Jurists has declared the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan as being “a blow to judicial independence, the rule of law, and human rights protection.” They imply excessive control of politicians upon the appointment of judges and, hence, upon the verdicts they pass as well as the administrative matters of the judiciary. Yet these comments have passed over the backs of our so-called legislators as water over a duck’s back.

Even detractors of the PTI have realized that the February 8, 2024, elections were rigged at the last moment, and the PML N and PPP have won seats by rewriting the vote counts on the ballot papers. The people had given their verdict of whom they wished to be governed by but had no clout. Since then, it seems that the entire machinery of bureaucracy, military, and judiciary has been moving heaven and earth first to eliminate the PTI from assemblies and then to eliminate its influence altogether. A minister has gone on record to say that the draconian Peca Ordinance that is meant to control media is really to muzzle social media over which the PTI has much power and skill.

Citizens can no longer protest, vent their anger, disagree with the policies of the unholy alliance at the helm of the country. Newspapers known for their independent analysis and opinions have been deprived of advertisements that the government hands out to preferred outlets.

The black laws passed so swiftly by the National Assembly and readily approved by an ever-obliging President are taking the country into an abyss and will one day come back to haunt these movers and shakers themselves. By the time the inevitable happens, the ordinary citizen would have been either reduced to a sycophant or risen in rebellion, perhaps along the lines of what happened in Bangladesh. Who knows? One can only hope Pakistanis have enough guts to fight for their rights. The signs do not indicate the validity of such a hope.

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