patā ab tak nahīñ badlā hamārā
vahī ghar hai vahī qissa hamārā
Unchanged remains our location
Same dwelling and also our same saga
vahī TuuTī huī kashtī hai apnī
vahī Thahrā huā dariyā hamārā
We still own the same broken boat
Amid the same static waters of our river
ye maqtal bhī hai aur kunj-e-amāñ bhī
ye dil ye be-nishāñ kamra hamārā
’Tis both a slaughterhouse and a soothing refuge
This heart, this worthless void of ours
kisī jānib nahīñ khulte darīche
kahīñ jaatā nahīñ rasta hamārā
The doors don’t open in any direction
Nor does our path lead anywhere
ham apnī dhuup meñ baiThe haiñ 'mushtāq'
hamāre saath hai saayā hamārā
We sit under the cover of our own light, Mushtaq
With our own shadow as our sole companion
Why is it so difficult to undo the legacy of dictators in Pakistan, even after clear mandates of the people given through elections? Why, every time in history, after getting rid of a military dictator, do we continue to face a civilian authoritarian ruler who behaves in the same disgusting manner, desiring “total” control over all institutions of the State? These questions need to be debated for finding appropriate answers—‘Political impasse: issues and solutions’, Business Recorder, 3 March 2009.
In 1992, The Herald (Karachi) interviewed the great intellectual of our time, Edward W. Said, and asked him, “Why do we continue to turn to the Zias of the world?” Professor Said candidly replied, “So long as those who rule us believe in might is right.” He said, “(This) phenomenon in global politics is reflective of the desire of the imperialists, who want perpetuation of their control through handpicked cronies and lackeys in different countries.”
In 2025, 26 years after Musharraf’s coup and 48 years after Zia's, we are still faced with the challenge of undoing their legacies. Many say that control in Pakistan has always been with the mighty men in khaki, and only the form has changed—it is now “tacit” rather than “explicit”. It is from hybrid to hybrid plus, and the plus will keep on increasing numerically.
This explains why it is so difficult to undo the legacy of dictators in countries like Pakistan, even after the clear mandate of the people through elections, which was blatantly changed on the night of 8 February 2024. The legitimacy of elected (sic) governments in Pakistan no longer stems from the will of the majority of citizens using their power of vote! Resultantly, the nation, especially the youth, is disillusioned about its future.
In today’s Pakistan, those possessing power dispossess the masses of their fundamental rights and participation in governance, and force them to yield before the powerful, unrepresentative forces installed by them, ready even to mutilate the supreme law of the land for them. It happened twice since 2024 in the form of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024 and the Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025.
The word ‘prosperity’ has lost its meaning for the lower-middle classes. The poor are getting poorer while the rich are enjoying all the luxuries
The powerful in the Land of the Pure want even the genuinely elected ones to act as cronies, and they, instead of putting up resistance through people’s power, please and appease them. This is the worst one can think of in any constitutional democracy. Since the bizarre episodes of 5 July 1977 and 12 October 1999, there has always been a struggle between the different organs of the State to display their muscles and supremacy. The control and running of the State through force have failed to solve basic problems.
Deprivation of the masses cannot be removed through judicial activism or unrepresentative rule. Resultantly, all kinds of conflicts will keep on resurfacing unless we ensure justice for all, the rule of law, and accountability of those who transgress their limits.
Historians are bewildered as day by day Pakistan is wrangling with unnecessary political and legal shenanigans. Elected leaders (sic) have no desire to undo the legacies of destroyed public institutions at the hands of Zia and Musharraf. Rebuilding and strengthening institutions and keeping the rule of law supreme is the responsibility of parliamentarians, but whether in power or in opposition, they have no inclination to do so.
Ayub, Yahya, Zia and Musharraf posed as messiahs but destroyed national cohesion. Unfortunately, the elected ones also followed in the footsteps of dictators by denying and/or resisting the establishment of a true democratic dispensation. The performance of political parties in power since 2008 is equally appalling in the realm of providing social justice and good governance.
In the wake of the elections of February 2008, the people thought there would be economic and social justice under democratic rule after protracted military rule, but in March 2013, things changed for the worse on completion of the first-ever much-trumpeted five-year-completion civilian era. Since then, the country has been sliding downwards.
Nearly 120 million Pakistanis are living below the poverty line. The word ‘prosperity’ has lost its meaning for the lower-middle classes. The poor are getting poorer while the rich are enjoying all the luxuries. Colossal wastage and plundering of public funds, borrowed money and taxes collected from the poor are playing havoc with the economy as well as tearing apart the socio-economic fabric of society.
The existing oppressive economic system of Pakistan protects and promotes the interests of the exploitative classes in utter violation of Article 3 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (“the Constitution”). Since its inception, Pakistan has nurtured an exploitative system which has been gaining strength with each passing day.
The ruling elite and intelligentsia are completely alienated from the masses. Ruling elites exploit them financially, and the so-called intellectuals use the “myth of people power” for their catharsis
Presently, all forms of exploitation and repression are so deeply rooted that they are even taking away the guaranteed “right to life” from the citizens, let alone fulfilling the promise mentioned in Article 3 of the Constitution, which says:
“The State shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability, to each according to his work.”
Behind the present chaotic socio-economic and political situation in Pakistan, amongst other factors, is the perpetuation of the unholy alliance of ruling elites—the militro-judicial-civil complex and politicians—against the masses. Aristotle in The Politics observed: “When laws do not rule, there is no constitution” This applies most aptly to our political and constitutional history.
Our military and civilian rulers have always acted similarly in violating all established norms of the rule of law, and the result, as predicted by Aristotle, is before us. Every ruler has mutilated (a very mild term to describe what really happens with the supreme law of the land) the Constitution to suit his/her needs and to perpetuate dictatorial regimes under one pretext or another. The role of the judiciary in endorsing these unconstitutional rules has been the most lamentable chapter of our history.
Musharraf, in In the Line of Fire, portrayed himself as a great saviour of the nation, whereas the reality was that under his despotic rule, with the support and connivance of the United States and its allies, the poor and helpless people of this country were deprived of their fundamental rights of access to free health, educational facilities, and dispensation of justice.
People ask how long the legacy of dictators and their cronies (politicians, bureaucrats and judges) would continue, and that too under so-called civilian rule? As Professor Said opined, as long as cronies rule the world, it can end only if people decide to become moral agents and not servants of power.
Salvation lies in socio-economic justice and the rule of law. The constitution of a country, being a living and vibrant document, determines the future direction of the nation, provided there is respect for the document and for the rule of law. In a country where a single person (Musharraf) was authorised by the Supreme Court to amend the supreme law of the land, there could have been neither democracy nor constitution, and unfortunately, this legacy continues unabated.
Despite becoming a nuclear state, Pakistan is ensnared in a deadly debt trap where the majority of the population lacks even basic amenities of life. Wealth and power are concentrated in a few hands, and the overwhelming burden of taxes is shifted onto the less privileged. The elitist economy favours the rich and mighty—with every passing day, the rich–poor divide is widening.
The main cause of our present-day pathetic socio-political and economic situation is the existence of inefficient, corrupt, repressive and criminal institutions, which do not give a damn about the welfare of the common people.
Successive governments’ policies of self-aggrandisement have reduced Pakistan to a state in perpetual conflict. The worsening economic situation, with the rise of militancy and authoritarianism, testifies to the fact that progress and tranquillity cannot be achieved by merely toeing the policies of aggressors and oppressors.
In the present scenario, the people are rightly disillusioned. Responsible government and sustainable democracy cannot be established unless the masses are empowered through local governments as provided in Article 140A of the Constitution.
The ruling elite and intelligentsia are completely alienated from the masses. Ruling elites exploit them financially, and the so-called intellectuals use the “myth of people power” for their catharsis. Political parties need the people only for electioneering to grab power. Nobody has a concrete agenda for a people’s rule and prosperity for all. Unless such an agenda is prepared and implemented, the present chaotic state of affairs will continue to persist without ending the legacy of despotic rulers and the control of the unelected, powerful institution and cronies created by it.