LAHORE:
Senior political leaders from across the spectrum warned Saturday of an “emergency-like” climate, a shrinking democratic space and the dangers of a security-dominated state, while calling for political unity and public resistance to protect the constitutional order.
Speaking in blunt terms, PTI lawyer Ali Zafar lamented the current situation as akin to martial law, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar criticized a “security-oriented state” suppressing dissent.
Meanwhile, Khawaja Saad Rafique of the PML-N urged parties to reclaim their political space through dialogue rather than confrontation.
These 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 was attended by Farhatullah Babar of the PPP, Khawaja Saad Rafique of the PML-N and lawyer Ali Zafar of the PTI, with senior journalist Talat Hussain moderating the exchange.
Lawyer Ali Zafar said that in practice conditions close to martial law prevailed. “In a way, martial law is in effect today,” he said, adding that the country was no longer in a waiting phase. “The time of waiting is over. We are in an emergency situation.”
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 posed the greatest threat, adding that speaking out was the most powerful tool citizens had.
Farhatullah Babar argued that the suffocating atmosphere was the result of Pakistan’s evolution into a “security-oriented state”, where the dominant security discourse determined who could express themselves freely.
“If your speech aligns with the security-oriented state, you are allowed to say whatever you want. If it does not, you are not allowed to speak,” he lamented.
Calling for a transition to a welfare state, he stressed that while Pakistan has no shortage of intellectuals, writers and academics, it lacks people willing to raise their voices. “Everyone will have to become the voice of their conscience,” he said, adding that while the suffocation would not disappear entirely, it could at least be reduced.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, whose party is in government, said the country’s situation had not fundamentally changed, adding that the environment described decades ago by Faiz Ahmed Faiz persisted.
He noted that all political parties had drawn from the same source but were seeking exclusive advantage.
He deplored repeated military interventions in politics and stressed 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 argued that if political parties did not question their own internal errors, freedom would remain confined to paper. He said political actors must collectively reclaim their political space rather than waiting for external validation.
Farhatullah Babar admitted that politicians had made serious mistakes and paid for them with executions and imprisonments. He said some elements in the country had never accepted the Constitution and stressed the need for political parties to sit together.
