LAHORE:
Senior political leaders from across the spectrum warned Saturday of an “emergency-like” climate, shrinking democratic space and the dangers of a security-dominated state, as they called for political unity and public resistance to protect constitutional rule.
Speaking in frank terms, PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar lamented the current situation resembling the prevailing martial law, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar slammed a “security-driven state” that suppresses dissent.
Meanwhile, PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique urged the parties to reclaim their political space through dialogue rather than confrontation.
The remarks were made during a session titled “Halqa-e-Zanjeer Mein Zubaan” at the 10th Faiz Festival currently underway at the Alhamra Arts Council.
The discussion brought together Farhatullah Babar of PPP, Khawaja Saad Rafique of PML-N and Barrister Ali Zafar of PTI with senior journalist Talat Hussain moderating the exchange.
Barrister Ali Zafar said that, in practical terms, martial law-like conditions prevailed. “In a sense, martial law is in place today,” he said, adding that the country was no longer in a waiting phase. “The time to wait is over. We are in an emergency.”
He warned that democracy must be defended with wisdom and determination. “If we fail to save democracy, we will be like a corpse,” he said. He warned that silence was the greatest threat, adding that speaking out was the most powerful tool available to citizens.
Farhatullah Babar argued that the suffocating atmosphere was a result of Pakistan evolving into a “security-driven state” where the dominant security narrative determined who could speak freely.
“If your narrative fits the security-driven state, you’re allowed to say what you want. If it doesn’t, you’re not allowed to speak,” he lamented.
He called for a transition to a welfare state and emphasized that while Pakistan did not lack intellectuals, writers and scholars, it lacked people willing to raise their voices. “Everyone will have to become voices of conscience,” he said, adding that while the stranglehold may not go away entirely, it can at least be reduced.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, whose party is in government, said the state of the country had not fundamentally changed, adding that the environment Faiz Ahmed Faiz described decades ago still existed.
He noted that all political parties had drawn from the same source but sought exclusive advantage.
He lamented repeated military interference in politics and pointed out that no army chief had apologized for such interference. “All parties have drunk from the same river, been bitten by it and yet want to drink from it again,” he said.
Rafique maintained that unless political parties began to challenge their own internal failings, freedom would remain confined to paper. He said that political actors must reclaim their political space collectively instead of waiting for external validation.
Farhatullah Babar acknowledged that politicians had made serious mistakes and paid for them through executions and imprisonment. He said some elements in the country had never accepted the constitution and stressed the need for political parties to sit together.
