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Dr. Yasmín Rashid. PHOTO: APP/FILE
LAHORE:
Pakistan’s democratic controls were systematically weakened between 2022 and 2025 through legal, electoral and constitutional restrictions, says a report co-authored by imprisoned PTI leader Dr Yasmin Rashid.
Titled From Repression to Crisis, the study, co-authored with researcher Shayan Bashir, examines political and legal developments since April 2022 and argues that what began as routine law enforcement against protests evolved into a sustained campaign of political containment.
According to the authors, the first phase was marked by mass arrests, preventive detentions, and overlapping criminal cases that kept workers and political leaders entangled in protracted judicial processes, limiting their political activity.
While the courts continued to function, the report states that the legal process increasingly functioned as a pressure mechanism rather than an impartial ruling.
The second phase unfolded around the 2024 general election, where restrictions on candidate eligibility, campaign activity, and election day communication reportedly limited political competition.
Although elections were held, the authors question whether the process met constitutional standards of fairness and transparency.
In the third phase, constitutional amendments and court rulings were reported to have altered the balance of power between institutions.
The report claims that judicial independence was restricted and that Anti-Terrorism Court convictions linked to the May 9 riots led to the disqualification of several opposition lawmakers, including opposition leaders in key legislatures, reshaping parliamentary composition.
The authors conclude that democratic institutions remain intact in form but weakened in function, and warn that stability cannot be sustained without credible elections, judicial oversight, and meaningful opposition participation.
