THERE comes a time when everyone has to take a stand, speak up, and be counted. And then, there is a time to be silent. The difficulty lies not in the question of whether one should voice their concerns, but in knowing when to voice them. In Pakistan, with the advent of the ‘judicial package’, an opportunity to speak out seems to have presented itself.

This is a judicial package that has been anything but welcome. By virtue of the proposed amendments, the government is attempting to upend the judicial set-up as we see it. They are not reforming it, building upon it, or improving it. They are, without any doubt, dismantling it. In its place, they are installing a set-up, which is in essence subordinate to them. In fact, the proposed amendments are so drastic that the term ‘judicial package’ appears to be a euphemism for ‘judicial fix’.

After all, any set-up in which the Supreme Court becomes subordinate to a ‘court’ which is nothing more than a glorified attached department of the government is scandalous. Any proposed amendment which takes away the people’s right to hold national security agencies accountable for enforced disappearances or abuse of authority is akin to rubbing salt in already festering wounds. And any........

© Dawn