Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed. PHOTO: ARCHIVE
LAHORE:
People cannot be prevented from disagreeing or dissenting from the government under any law, as long as they remain within the limits established by the Constitution, legal and political experts have opined.
While the government has openly warned people against dissent from its current foreign policy, arguing that it creates confusion among friendly states over Pakistan’s stated position, political and legal analysts have termed the move a “crude form of repression”. They say these types of measures are often a hallmark of fascist and totalitarian regimes.
The state treats dissent as the first stage of a mutiny and therefore spares no effort to suppress it, they said, adding that the government cannot force its people to swear allegiance to its policies as citizens have every right to question and dissent from the state policy.
Former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed said the claim that the Constitution does not allow people to question state policy, particularly with regard to the country’s foreign relations, is incorrect and reflects ignorance of the basic principles of the Constitution.
He said people can disagree with any decision of the State according to their understanding, as long as it stays within the scope of the law. He added that the Constitution does not force citizens to have faith in government decisions. On the contrary, he said, the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression.
Former interim Punjab chief minister and senior political analyst Hasan Askari said it was not surprising that the government treated dissent as anti-state. In the current situation, he said, the question of what is legal and what is not becomes largely irrelevant. He added that, unfortunately, those in power can get away with almost anything.
Even on issues related to political differences, the government resorts to the same corrosive measures to confront the opposition, Askari said.
He said that “this was not a political government, so public opinion does not matter to him.”
The former interim chief minister of Punjab said Pakistan should avoid getting involved in any regional conflict and maintain a neutral policy.
Journalist Salman Abid observed that the State wants to rid the country of any opposition.
He said the government believes its decision-making should not be subject to public scrutiny and questioned who actually decides state policy, pointing out that not even parliament was involved in the matter at hand.
He stated that “decisions made behind closed doors, without any public opinion,” are expected to have the full support of the State. He added that if someone decides to disagree with state policy, there is no clear way to express that disagreement.
He further said that this shows that Pakistan has learned nothing from its past mistakes, noting that many of the policies that the current government criticizes were once state policies. He warned that such “oppressive measures” will only further alienate people from the state.
