Protecting Pakistan at the cost of civil liberty

[caption id="attachment_709" align="aligncenter" width="112"] Muhammad Waqas[/caption]

In a recently held heated National Assembly session, the government of Pakistan was able to successfully promulgate the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO). There was plenty of drama, with the opposition parties tearing up copies of the proposed bill and staging a walkout protest. The controversial ordinance empowers security forces to arrest and detain suspects at secret locations, shoot them at sight and also conduct raids without any search warrants. The opposition parties believe that the law proposes extra-constitutional measures, and could turn Pakistan into a police state. However, the law faces a stern test in the country’s Upper House or Senate before it can be formally adopted by the State. Further, opposition parties have vowed to file a petition against the “draconian and regressive law” in the Supreme Court.
The law was conceived to give sweeping powers to security forces and make them more effective in overcoming the menace of poor security situation across the country. Besides being plagued by militancy in the volatile northwestern region bordering Afghanistan, security forces in Pakistan continue to battle militancy, which has crept into urban centers. Meanwhile, the country’s sluggish economic performance and widening socioeconomic divide have also increased the rate of street crimes. In this backdrop, the decree was well intended but fails to tackle the root causes of Pakistan’s main security challenges. According to the law, all elements that create disorder in the country have been declared as “enemies of the state.”
The government also pledges to make the protection of life as its top priority. While all political parties and members of the civil society back the government’s resolve of restoring peace in the country, the proposed bill may be used to target political workers of certain affiliations and also curb civil freedom. The need for such a law is also being questioned with the government already in talks with the main faction of Pakistani Taleban. Perhaps, the law is intended to send a strong message to the militants and warn them of a massive military action in case they back track from the peace process.
The controversial bill could also pave the way for use of brutal force to crush different political and civil rights movement in the country. It will raise the level of insecurity in political and civil circles from neglected provinces, like Balochistan. The government is already struggling to explain its position to the Supreme Court in the alleged enforced disappearances case, and this law would provide a cover to security agencies to continue with their covert activities.
The government would have been wiser to carry out consultations with members of the civil society and other political parties before tabling this law. Given the influence of opposition in Upper House, the law is anyway not expected to be passed in its current shape. Rather than imposing such drastic measures, the government should focus on developing a coherent anti-terrorism strategy that weeds out the primary issues of contention. The ordinance is completely against democratic ideals of freedom of expression and deliberation as it grants the government extraordinary powers to quell dissent under the garb of state protection.