Revisiting colonial era laws

EDITORIAL: It comes like a breath of fresh air in the prevailing gloomy political atmosphere. In a momentous verdict on public interest petitions announced on Thursday Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court struck down the offense of sedition from Section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for being repugnant to the fundamental rights of citizens protected by the Constitution.

The provision in the PPC harks back to the colonial era, introduced in 1860 to suppress dissent. Under it “whosever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt the federal or provincial government is punishable with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or imprisonment up to three years along with fine”. This blatantly oppressive law criminalising dissent continued to be retained and used to control people.

The Lahore High Court’s decision cannot be welcomed enough as an important step towards restoration of freedom of speech – a core democratic value. The present ‘democratic government’ has booked several leaders of the main opposition party, the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), including former prime minister Imran Khan, in sedition cases.

Several other civil society members and a Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement leader, Manzur Pashteen, have faced detention under the same law.

Another abhorrence on the statute book is a rehashed colonial era law, the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, which is being employed to arrest opposition activists for staging protest demonstrations.

Also liberally used are anti-terrorism laws against opposition leaders and workers for participation in largely peaceful protests against the government.

Needless to say, such practices are incompatible with democratic norms, having no place in any civilised society.

It is about time in Pakistan all the laws repugnant to the fundamental rights guaranteed were abolished.

Also, the government needs to review its craven policy of suppressing critical voices. It must act responsibly and show respect for the people’s right to dignity and freedom of expression, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023