LAHORE:
Senior political leaders from across the spectrum on Saturday warned of an “emergency-like” climate, shrinking democratic space and the dangers of a security-dominated state, as they urged political unity and public resistance to protect constitutional rule.
Speaking in candid terms, PTI’s Barrister Ali Zafar deplored the current situation as akin to martial law in effect, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar slammed a “security-driven state” suppressing dissent.
Meanwhile, PML-N’s Khawaja Saad Rafique urged 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 the PPP, Khawaja Saad Rafique of the PML-N and Barrister Ali Zafar of the PTI, with senior journalist Talat Hussain moderating the exchange.
Barrister Ali Zafar said that, in practical terms, martial law-like conditions prevailed. “In a way, martial law is in place today,” he said, adding that the country was no longer in a phase of waiting. “The time for waiting has passed. We are in an emergency.”
He cautioned that democracy must be defended with wisdom and resolve. “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 up 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 may speak freely.
“If your narrative aligns with the security-driven state, you are allowed to say whatever you want. If it does not, you are not allowed to speak,” he lamented.
Urging a transition toward a welfare state, he stressed that while Pakistan had no shortage of 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 suffocation may not entirely disappear, it could at least be reduced.
Khawaja Saad Rafique, whose party is in the government, said the country’s condition had not fundamentally changed, adding that the environment described decades ago by Faiz Ahmed Faiz still persisted.
He noted that all political parties had drawn from the same source but sought exclusive advantage.
He deplored repeated military interventions in politics and pointed out that no army chief had apologised 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 challenging their own internal mistakes, freedom would remain confined to paper. He said political actors must reclaim their political space collectively rather than wait for external validation.
Farhatullah Babar acknowledged that politicians had made grave mistakes and paid for them through executions and imprisonment. He said some elements in the country had never accepted the Constitution and emphasised the need for political parties to sit together.
