The Constitution of Pakistan is intended to guide Pakistan’s law its political culture, and the system. It also identifies the state (in terms of its physical boundaries), the fundamental rights of the people, state’s constitutional law and also the constitutional structure and establishment of institutions in the country.
The preamble to the constitution says ‘Dedicated to the preservation of democracy achieved by the unremitting struggle of the people against oppression and tyranny; Inspired by the resolve to protect our national and political unity and solidarity by creating an egalitarian society through a new order; Do hereby, through our representatives in the National Assembly, adopt, enact and give to ourselves, this Constitution.
The ‘constitution’ has always been portrayed by the political class as a guide for every action they take, and rightly so. We often hear politicians claiming their actions to be for the sake of the authority of the constitution. Yet it seems that all of this is mere talk, the constitution is implemented only where it suits the needs and is disregarded when it doesn’t. Be it politicians, journalists, lawyers, the bureaucracy, the business community the constitution is followed and discarded at will.
The constitution gives a person the right of ‘fair trial’ it prohibits slavery and forced labor, it also clearly states that ‘No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence.’ the constitution also provides the right to information. All these rights provided by the constitution to the citizens are being more or less violated.
We will give a detailed overview in our future editorials on how the constitution of Pakistan has been cast aside by our politicians, our journalists, our lawyers, our liberal civil society and by our seculars as well as fundamentalists. The very people who are supposed to protect the constitution are in utter violation of it, yet there is no outcry.