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Dr. Yasmin Rashid. PHOTO: APP/FILE
LAHORE:
Pakistan’s democratic control was systematically weakened between 2022 and 2025 through legal, electoral and constitutional restrictions, claims a report co-authored by jailed senior PTI leader Dr. Yasmin Rashid.
The study, titled From Crackdown to Crisis, 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 characterized by mass arrests, preventive detentions, and overlapping criminal cases that kept political workers and leaders entangled in protracted trials, limiting their political activity.
While the courts remained functional, the report states that the legal process increasingly functioned as a mechanism for pressure rather than impartial adjudication.
The second phase unfolded around the 2024 general election, where restrictions on candidate eligibility, campaign activity and election day communications 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 decisions reportedly changed the balance of power between the institutions.
The report claims that judicial independence was curtailed and that convictions by the Anti-Terrorism Court in connection with the May 9 riots led to the disqualification of several opposition lawmakers, including leaders of the opposition in key legislatures, changing the parliamentary composition.
The authors conclude that democratic institutions remain intact in form but weakened in function, and warn that stability cannot be maintained without credible elections, judicial oversight, and meaningful opposition participation.
