“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command” — 1984 by George Orwell
PAKISTAN has witnessed military dictators abrogating or suspending the Constitution several times in the past. In fact, Gen Ziaul Haq has been quoted as saying that the Constitution was nothing more than a piece of paper which he could tear up at any time. The late dictator’s remarks were a reflection of the arrogance that comes with power and of a dismissive attitude towards a Constitution that had been adopted unanimously by an elected parliament in 1973. The Constitution was restored with some amendments after the death of Gen Zia in an air crash in 1988.
Gen Pervez Musharraf suspended the 1973 Constitution not once but twice — in 1999 and then again in 2007 though his move did not get legal cover the second time round. He survived in power for some months after his second action. The Constitution was subsequently restored. But even those military rulers did not mutilate the Constitution the way it has been done now by a parliament which has a questionable public mandate.
While the 26th Amendment had shaken the very foundation of the trichotomy of power, the 27th has virtually murdered the Constitution. The last rites were being performed in haste under the watch of ‘Big Brother’. It is perhaps, the darkest moment in our unenviable constitutional history.
Legislators’ talk of democracy rings hollow after they killed the spirit of the Constitution.
It has been more of a puppet show — one after another, the lawmakers rose to defend the amendments that they are likely not to have been consulted on. Other members just shouted ‘aye’ when the vote was called perhaps without even reading the draft of the law provided to them at the session. They just had to follow the party line.
Some of them are familiar faces who in the past had also voted for changes in the Constitution in Zia and Musharraf’s military governments. The required number of votes for the passage of the amendment in the Senate was duly produced by engineering a few defections from the opposition benches. One does not need to be reminded of how it happened. An opposition mutilated and further battered by the latest disqualification of several of its lawmakers were convicted in dubious trials by antiterrorism courts did not have much choice but to boycott the vote in parliament. The sham went on with no opposition in the House.
It has not been just the complete demolition of whatever independence of judiciary was left after the 26th Amendment but also the surrender of even the semblance of civilian rule. The new amendment will provide constitutional cover to the country’s march towards becoming a praetorian state. The army chief has been granted unprecedented powers. Elevated to the rank of field marshal for his leadership in the four-day conflict with India in May this year, he will now have immunity from the law for his actions, with his term in office extended to five years and provision of another extension in service.
The lifetime immunity has not only been granted to five-star-ranked armed forces officers but also to the president. It is unprecedented in a democratic country not to hold leaders and state officials to account for their actions. This is not only a negation of democratic norms but also of the rule of law. In most democratic countries, such immunity is not granted to elected leaders even when in office. But after the 27th amendment, they will have complete immunity from illegal actions.
It was quite amusing to watch the debate on the amendment in the National Assembly when ministers and other members of the treasury benches made it a point to start their speeches by profusely praising Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for giving the country the 1973 Constitution and then, in the same breath, claimed that the amendment would further strengthen democracy in the country.
One can only marvel at the hypocrisy of these politicians for talking about democracy and the rule of law after killing the very spirit of the Constitution. But should one expect anything else from those who appear as mere puppets? After all, their very presence in the House is owed to certain quarters. A day before the amendment was tabled in the Senate I asked a very senior PML-N leader who had held many important ministerial positions in the past about the proposal. He actually had no idea about its provisions.
He was certainly not the exception. Even some federal ministers privately admitted they had not been kept in the loop. It is not surprising given the secrecy surrounding the substance of the amendment. And the way it is being rushed through parliament leaves nothing to the imagination. That is the state of our so-called democracy under a dispensation installed through manipulated elections.
It is perhaps the role of the PPP, which while a part of the coalition has opted to stay out of government, that has been the most appalling in the entire episode. The party and its leaders were also instrumental in the demolition of the Constitution that the PPP takes credit for instituting. It sounded so surreal when PPP lawmakers eloquently described the sacrifices given by the party leadership for democracy to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution.
There is indeed no denial about the PPP’s struggle for democracy in the past. But the current leadership has betrayed that legacy. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has justified the changes in the Constitution particularly the establishment of a separate constitutional court saying it was a part of the Charter of Democracy signed by the PPP and PML-N in 2006. But his argument about the court is completely out of context. Moreover, there is much more in the charter related to the establishment of civilian supremacy and the Constitution. The 27th amendment totally negates the charter and will lead to authoritarianism. History will judge the current leadership in a completely different way from the past leadership.
A big question is whether the Supreme Court will now act to protect the Constitution and whatever little autonomy the judiciary has been left with after it accepted the 26th Amendment. Sadly, the amendment has also weakened the unity of the federation.
The writer is an author and journalist.
X: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2025
