DAWN Editorials - 2nd March 2025
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2025 6:10 pm
The vanquished
IT should be becoming more and more obvious to anyone following the judiciary’s new direction that the critics of the 26th Amendment were justified in fearing that it would be abused by the government.
Ever since its enactment, it has become progressively more difficult to rationalise the reconstituted Judicial Commission’s decisions as politically neutral or objective. Take the recent expansion of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench, for example. Why did the bench need to be expanded with five judges, with five judges only, and why did all five have to be only those who have only recently been elevated to the Supreme Court?
There are no legal or moral justifications, only political ones, for why several senior, experienced judges were once again ignored during consideration. Even to the layperson, it is clear that now that the judiciary has fallen to executive control, the vae victis principle has been put into play.
Objectivity would demand that each judge appointed to the Constitutional Bench pass a rigorous test of merit and judgement in constitutional matters. What we have seen, instead, is an arbitrary system of appointment dominated by ‘like-minded’ individuals who feel no need to give the public any reasoning or justification for why they have made their decisions. This lack of transparency hurts judicial integrity.
Several judges and stakeholders had previously demanded that the Constitutional Bench include all Supreme Court justices, at least for the purposes of adjudicating on the question of the legality of the 26th Amendment. This demand has been repeatedly ignored, and the recent expansion of the bench with selected judges suggests it may never be entertained. It is unfortunate that this path has been chosen, as it means that some important questions that concern the legitimacy of the Constitutional Bench itself may never be settled.
Those who have managed to impose their will on the judiciary should realise that they have won a pyrrhic victory. In dismantling a pillar of the state, they have gravely hurt the legitimacy of the current regime in the public’s eyes. The Constitutional Bench is supposed to hear cases with far-reaching implications. Any impression that its judges have been cherry-picked erodes faith in its ability to adjudicate justly and sows the seeds for social divisions.
It is not proper or fair that certain justices are being repeatedly prevented from hearing any matter of national import just because they have vocally defended their independence.
A system of justice that is publicly perceived to be skewed cannot deliver judgements that the public will accept unquestioningly as objective and just. Without the public’s trust, the apex court loses its raison d’être.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025
Cricket overhaul
PAKISTAN’S team management has pleaded for time and patience. Cricket head coach Aaqib Javed took responsibility for Pakistan’s dismal Champions Trophy campaign but said that the side’s lack of experience proved costly. Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood blamed it on the lack of trust and the scant time offered to players to start performing. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan vowed the team would work harder and return stronger. Sadly, Pakistan cricket is back at the same place — a place it seemed to have escaped following its disappointing campaigns at the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 Twenty20 World Cup. The ODI series triumphs in Australia and South Africa had reinforced the belief that the team was back on track — until its flop show at the Champions Trophy at home. Past failings returned to haunt; losses against New Zealand and India were followed by a washout against Bangladesh as Pakistan ended at the bottom of their group. Aqib Javed noted that Pakistan had failed to make the best use of home conditions — teams such as Australia and New Zealand, who had beaten Rizwan’s men twice in the preceding tri-nation series, have shown what it takes to win. Talk of an overhaul is rife; many former Pakistan greats are vocal about following merit in team selections and the need for consistency in the Pakistan Cricket Board leadership and decisions, as well as fostering an aggressive mindset in the team.
All this has been talked about earlier too. However, little has been done to address the problem. Aqib Javed was keen on backing the big guns — batters Babar Azam and Rizwan, and pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah — stating they were Pakistan’s best. For a team that once had a number of players waiting to make the jump to the national team, this is alarming. The big guns failed to fire, the promising newcomers having flattered to deceive. The disappointing Champions Trophy campaign comes after the team’s struggles in other formats. Pakistan finished at the bottom of the World Test Championship table. They lost all the T20s they played in South Africa and Australia. Pakistan cricket needs a reset. A long-term plan is needed to restore national cricket to its former glory, as the sport is in danger of following the declining trajectory of hockey and squash. The PCB has to act — fast.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025
Local representation?
THE disdain that major political parties harbour towards local governments is no secret. No party in power wants to lose control over the bureaucracy and the resources that their leadership uses to dispense political patronage aimed at pampering their constituencies. Added to this is the fear of having to share powers with, or cede them to, rivals at the local level, thus losing their leverage over the voters. These concerns continue, despite the LGs’ minimal financial and administrative authority. While true for the entire country, this is especially the case in Punjab, which has been deprived of local representation since the PTI government dissolved LG institutions controlled by its rival the PML-N in 2019. Repeated interventions by the ECP notwithstanding, governments in Punjab have since avoided holding LG polls mostly on the pretext of altering the legal framework for the local bodies.
The reason the provinces are able to delay local elections for as long as they want is embedded in our Constitution. Indeed, the Constitution binds the federation and the provinces to establish LG systems in their territorial jurisdictions to devolve political, administrative, and financial powers to the third tier of government. But, unlike the case of the federal and provincial legislatures and governments, it does not provide a detailed framework to give constitutional cover to the establishment and powers of this missing link in the democratic chain. Though the ECP has again instructed Punjab to expedite the finalisation of its new LG model so that it can begin the process of holding polls, the government is unlikely to heed its instructions unless it finds the political situation favourable to the ruling PML-N. In the absence of a clear constitutional LG framework, Punjab has more than one way to scuttle any ECP directive and stall new LG polls for as long as it wants. And it will do so because of the challenge it faces from the PTI.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025
IT should be becoming more and more obvious to anyone following the judiciary’s new direction that the critics of the 26th Amendment were justified in fearing that it would be abused by the government.
Ever since its enactment, it has become progressively more difficult to rationalise the reconstituted Judicial Commission’s decisions as politically neutral or objective. Take the recent expansion of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench, for example. Why did the bench need to be expanded with five judges, with five judges only, and why did all five have to be only those who have only recently been elevated to the Supreme Court?
There are no legal or moral justifications, only political ones, for why several senior, experienced judges were once again ignored during consideration. Even to the layperson, it is clear that now that the judiciary has fallen to executive control, the vae victis principle has been put into play.
Objectivity would demand that each judge appointed to the Constitutional Bench pass a rigorous test of merit and judgement in constitutional matters. What we have seen, instead, is an arbitrary system of appointment dominated by ‘like-minded’ individuals who feel no need to give the public any reasoning or justification for why they have made their decisions. This lack of transparency hurts judicial integrity.
Several judges and stakeholders had previously demanded that the Constitutional Bench include all Supreme Court justices, at least for the purposes of adjudicating on the question of the legality of the 26th Amendment. This demand has been repeatedly ignored, and the recent expansion of the bench with selected judges suggests it may never be entertained. It is unfortunate that this path has been chosen, as it means that some important questions that concern the legitimacy of the Constitutional Bench itself may never be settled.
Those who have managed to impose their will on the judiciary should realise that they have won a pyrrhic victory. In dismantling a pillar of the state, they have gravely hurt the legitimacy of the current regime in the public’s eyes. The Constitutional Bench is supposed to hear cases with far-reaching implications. Any impression that its judges have been cherry-picked erodes faith in its ability to adjudicate justly and sows the seeds for social divisions.
It is not proper or fair that certain justices are being repeatedly prevented from hearing any matter of national import just because they have vocally defended their independence.
A system of justice that is publicly perceived to be skewed cannot deliver judgements that the public will accept unquestioningly as objective and just. Without the public’s trust, the apex court loses its raison d’être.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025
Cricket overhaul
PAKISTAN’S team management has pleaded for time and patience. Cricket head coach Aaqib Javed took responsibility for Pakistan’s dismal Champions Trophy campaign but said that the side’s lack of experience proved costly. Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood blamed it on the lack of trust and the scant time offered to players to start performing. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan vowed the team would work harder and return stronger. Sadly, Pakistan cricket is back at the same place — a place it seemed to have escaped following its disappointing campaigns at the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 Twenty20 World Cup. The ODI series triumphs in Australia and South Africa had reinforced the belief that the team was back on track — until its flop show at the Champions Trophy at home. Past failings returned to haunt; losses against New Zealand and India were followed by a washout against Bangladesh as Pakistan ended at the bottom of their group. Aqib Javed noted that Pakistan had failed to make the best use of home conditions — teams such as Australia and New Zealand, who had beaten Rizwan’s men twice in the preceding tri-nation series, have shown what it takes to win. Talk of an overhaul is rife; many former Pakistan greats are vocal about following merit in team selections and the need for consistency in the Pakistan Cricket Board leadership and decisions, as well as fostering an aggressive mindset in the team.
All this has been talked about earlier too. However, little has been done to address the problem. Aqib Javed was keen on backing the big guns — batters Babar Azam and Rizwan, and pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah — stating they were Pakistan’s best. For a team that once had a number of players waiting to make the jump to the national team, this is alarming. The big guns failed to fire, the promising newcomers having flattered to deceive. The disappointing Champions Trophy campaign comes after the team’s struggles in other formats. Pakistan finished at the bottom of the World Test Championship table. They lost all the T20s they played in South Africa and Australia. Pakistan cricket needs a reset. A long-term plan is needed to restore national cricket to its former glory, as the sport is in danger of following the declining trajectory of hockey and squash. The PCB has to act — fast.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025
Local representation?
THE disdain that major political parties harbour towards local governments is no secret. No party in power wants to lose control over the bureaucracy and the resources that their leadership uses to dispense political patronage aimed at pampering their constituencies. Added to this is the fear of having to share powers with, or cede them to, rivals at the local level, thus losing their leverage over the voters. These concerns continue, despite the LGs’ minimal financial and administrative authority. While true for the entire country, this is especially the case in Punjab, which has been deprived of local representation since the PTI government dissolved LG institutions controlled by its rival the PML-N in 2019. Repeated interventions by the ECP notwithstanding, governments in Punjab have since avoided holding LG polls mostly on the pretext of altering the legal framework for the local bodies.
The reason the provinces are able to delay local elections for as long as they want is embedded in our Constitution. Indeed, the Constitution binds the federation and the provinces to establish LG systems in their territorial jurisdictions to devolve political, administrative, and financial powers to the third tier of government. But, unlike the case of the federal and provincial legislatures and governments, it does not provide a detailed framework to give constitutional cover to the establishment and powers of this missing link in the democratic chain. Though the ECP has again instructed Punjab to expedite the finalisation of its new LG model so that it can begin the process of holding polls, the government is unlikely to heed its instructions unless it finds the political situation favourable to the ruling PML-N. In the absence of a clear constitutional LG framework, Punjab has more than one way to scuttle any ECP directive and stall new LG polls for as long as it wants. And it will do so because of the challenge it faces from the PTI.
Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2025