n its chequered history of consolidating democracy, alternating between long martial laws and interludes of democratic dispensations, the state of Pakistan has seen a lot of the doctrine of necessity and constitutional engineering. This has often led to a diarchic power sharing arrangement and the presidentialising of the parliamentary form of government. Meanwhile, decades of intense ideological socialisation of the people have led to the circumvention of the process of legal socialisation. This, in turn, has hampered the process of citizen formation and lessened the intensity and level of meaningful societal input into the process of constitutional development. Consequently, for nearly a decade now, the country is under a ruling framework described as a hybrid regime.

It is therefore not shocking to see Pakistan being placed very low on the ladder of global democracy indices such as The Economist Intelligence Unit and Freedom House. In reports appearing in February 2025, Pakistan’s democracy ranking slipped down six spots during 2024 to rank among the 10 worst performers in the EIU. The index examines countries on five indicators: electoral process and pluralism; functioning of government; political participation; political culture; and civil liberties available to citizens. Drawing on scores in these areas, each country is categorised into four kinds of regimes: full democracy; flawed democracy; hybrid regime; and authoritarian regime. Pakistan has been ranked 124 in the global ranking and categorised as an ‘authoritarian regime.’ The Freedom House index describes it as ‘partly free.’

In theory, the constitution provides a framework of laws and institutions that result in the........

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