Since the regime change of April 2022, Pakistan has been undergoing a transformation more subtle — and more dangerous — than any past martial law. The military establishment, aided by the dynastic political elites of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has devised a system of “constitutional martial law”: using amendments, ordinances, and manipulated legislation to legalize their control.
Where once generals suspended the Constitution, now they rewrite it — line by line — to serve their interests. Through constitutional amendments, accountability rollbacks, electoral manipulation, and institutional capture, Pakistan’s hybrid regime has turned democracy into a façade while entrenching military dominance.
The role of certain judges within the higher judiciary has been central to legitimizing this new form of constitutional martial law. Instead of acting as guardians of the Constitution, some members of the superior courts have become instruments in its subversion. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s actions stand as key examples. His judgments and administrative decisions, particularly those that facilitated floor-crossing in Parliament, deprived the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of its bat electoral symbol and authorized the appointment of government officials as presiding officers, effectively dismantling the framework for free and fair elections. These moves ensured that electoral engineering could be conducted under the guise of legality.
By allowing the executive to penetrate the electoral process and by weakening judicial independence, such rulings provided a veneer of constitutional legitimacy to a de facto military-controlled system. The judiciary, once the final shield against authoritarian overreach, has now — through selective judgments and silence — become a collaborator in the mutilation of Pakistan’s democratic order.
The 26th Constitutional Amendment: Subduing the Judiciary
Passed in October 2024, the 26th Constitutional Amendment represents perhaps the most radical assault on judicial independence in Pakistan’s history. It reshaped the method of appointing and removing judges, curtailed the judiciary’s autonomy, and handed decisive control to Parliament, which, in practice, means the military-backed executive.
Key features of the amendment include:
- Abolition of the seniority rule for appointing the Chief Justice of A 12-member parliamentary committee (8 from the National Assembly, 4 from the Senate) now selects the Chief Justice from among the three most senior judges.
- The CJP’s tenure is fixed at three years, regardless of
- The Judicial Commission of Pakistan and the Supreme Judicial Council were restructured to increase executive and legislative influence, reducing the role of senior judges.
- High Courts’ suo motu powers are restricted, and “inefficiency” is added as a new ground for a judge’s removal.
- Judges can now be transferred without their consent, upon recommendation of the Judicial Commission.
- The amendment was passed in a late-night session, amid credible reports of intimidation and coercion of parliamentarians.
Constitutional scholars have called it a civilianized judicial coup. By altering Articles 175A and 209, the amendment replaced judicial independence with political obedience — an unprecedented encroachment by the executive.
Judicial Complicity
The passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment marked one of the most controversial episodes in Pakistan’s recent legislative history. What was presented as a procedural reform turned into a calculated maneuver to reshape the judiciary and political system under military oversight. The groundwork for this amendment was laid when Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s Supreme Court ruling effectively legitimized floor-crossing, reversing decades of legal and political precedent that treated defection as a violation of party discipline and voter mandate. This decision opened the door for engineering parliamentary majorities through coercion and inducement, creating an artificial consensus for the amendment.
In the weeks leading up to the vote, reports emerged of Opposition MNAs being harassed, abducted, or bribed to ensure the bill’s smooth passage — a classic replay of Pakistan’s dark political manipulation. Parliamentary sessions were held under a suspiciously managed quorum, and voices demanding debate or constitutional review were silenced. The result was the swift approval of a law that effectively brought the judiciary under executive and military control, curtailing fundamental rights and paving the way for a system of “constitutional martial law” without ever needing to impose one formally.
An Illegitimate Regime Built on a Stolen Mandate
The present government stands on the rubble of a stolen mandate. It did not rise through the will of the people but through a meticulously manufactured election, the results of which have been condemned across Pakistan and quietly acknowledged abroad. Even diplomats, journalists, and election observers — constrained by diplomatic caution — have privately admitted that what took place was not an election, but a managed transfer of power.
The evidence of systematic rigging, from tampered Form-47s to delayed result tabulations, is overwhelming. The posts by political figures, eyewitnesses, and even members of the ruling alliance themselves now form a record of collective deceit that robbed the Pakistani people of their voice. This is why the regime’s claim to constitutional legitimacy rings hollow: a constitution mutilated by fraud cannot be invoked to justify authority born of that same fraud.
Every law this government has passed — from the NAB amendments shielding the corrupt, to the reversal of overseas Pakistanis’ voting rights, to the abolition of electronic voting machines — is therefore tainted at its root. It is the legislation of a regime desperate to legalize its own illegality.
A parliament formed through stolen votes and coerced alliances has no moral or political right to amend the Constitution of 240 million citizens. Its acts are not expressions of democracy but edicts of occupation, written in parliamentary language. What Pakistan faces today is not governance but rule by fabrication — a government of generals and dynasts, manufactured through rigging and sustained through fear, whose only project is self-preservation at the cost of the Republic itself.
Manipulating Accountability: NAB Laws and the Selective Justice System
Soon after Imran Khan’s removal, the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act, 2022 was passed to weaken anti-corruption mechanisms. The changes appeared technical, but their impact was sweeping:
- NAB’s jurisdiction was curtailed to exclude cases below 500 million, instantly disqualifying scores of corruption cases.
- Policy decisions by public officeholders were exempted from
- The appointment of accountability court judges shifted from the President to the
federal government, removing an important buffer.
- Pending NAB cases were transferred to other agencies or closed
These amendments effectively exonerated members of the ruling coalition. Corruption cases against key figures in the Sharif and Zardari families were withdrawn or terminated overnight.
Yet, when the same amended NAB law benefitted Imran Khan in court — logically requiring his case to be dropped — NAB officials claimed “procedural exceptions,” exposing the double standards.
The Supreme Court initially struck down the amendments in 2023, calling them unconstitutional. Still, in 2024, the same court reversed itself, restoring the amendments — a telling symbol of judicial pliancy under political pressure.
Engineering the Electoral System
In May 2022, Parliament passed the Elections (Amendment) Act, 2022, repealing reforms introduced by the PTI government in 2021. Two key rollbacks reshaped the democratic process:
- Voting rights for overseas Pakistanis — roughly nine million citizens — were
- The use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) was abolished, restoring manual counting systems vulnerable to manipulation.
The Election Commission and government defended the changes as “technical corrections,” but in reality, they stripped millions of politically engaged expatriates — a demographic largely supportive of PTI — of their franchise.
The Islamabad High Court later observed that the government had made overseas voting “so complicated as to effectively bar participation.” The 2024 elections, marred by Form-47 tampering and unexplained result delays, validated fears that these rollbacks were designed to facilitate manufactured electoral outcomes.
Legislative Irregularities and Parliamentary Subversion
A defining feature of this era is the passage of major legislation without a constitutional quorum. Opposition benches were often empty or boycotting, yet bills were bulldozed through, violating parliamentary procedure.
Among the laws passed under questionable sessions were:
- Amendments to the Defamation Act and the PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes) Act, tightening control over digital speech.
- The Official Secrets (Amendment) Act, 2023, criminalizes criticism of the state
- Amendments to the Army Act, extending the tenures of service chiefs and legitimizing the military’s enhanced role in governance.
By bypassing debate and due process, these sessions converted Parliament from a forum of deliberation into a rubber stamp for executive diktats.
Silencing Accountability and the Press
Alongside judicial and parliamentary capture came the suppression of free expression. The Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) Bill, though stalled, laid groundwork for strict state licensing of digital platforms. The PECA amendments broadened the definition of “false information,” allowing arrests for online dissent.
Journalists critical of the regime faced arrests under sedition and anti-terror laws. Independent digital outlets were forced offline. Lawyers defending political prisoners were targeted through spurious disciplinary actions.
This ecosystem of fear reflects a deliberate policy: control information, control perception, control resistance.
Institutional Collusion and the Death of Checks and Balances
A functioning democracy depends on institutional counterweights. But in today’s Pakistan, the executive, judiciary, parliament, and bar associations have fused into a single power matrix.
The Supreme Court’s silence on the constitutional violations of Articles 10-A (fair trial), 19 (freedom of speech), and 25 (equality before law) reveals complicity. Prominent lawyers and judges who once opposed military coups now defend the same outcomes achieved through legislative manipulation.
Meanwhile, election tribunals — meant to resolve disputes — have been weakened through procedural restrictions, ensuring rigged results stand uncontested.
Every major law since April 2022 has had a single unifying objective: to protect the ruling class from prosecution and accountability.
None of these amendments or acts addresses inflation, unemployment, or governance reforms. Instead, they constitute a legal architecture designed for self-preservation — a system where the Constitution no longer limits power but legitimizes impunity.
The International Community’s Silence
Despite the magnitude of democratic erosion, global reaction has been muted.
- The Commonwealth Secretariat’s observer report on the 2024 elections remains
- The European Union’s observer mission has withheld its findings, despite evidence of result manipulation and human rights abuses.
Western governments, eager for short-term regional stability, have chosen silence over principle, effectively endorsing the regime’s constitutional mutilation.
Equally troubling is the silence of the international community, which has chosen strategic convenience over democratic principle. Despite clear evidence of electoral manipulation, suppression of dissent, and judicial engineering, no major Western power or multilateral institution has raised a serious objection. The Commonwealth Observer Group’s report on election irregularities was quietly suppressed, and the European Union’s election assessment report remains unreleased, months after the polls.
This silence amounts to tacit approval. Western governments, quick to condemn democratic backsliding elsewhere, have looked the other way in Pakistan — a nuclear-armed state of over 240 million people — because it suits their geopolitical interests. By ignoring the ongoing constitutional mutilation and the transformation of Pakistan into a managed democracy under military tutelage, the international community has become an enabler of authoritarianism. The result is a regime that continues to operate with impunity: parliament hollowed out, judiciary compromised, media silenced, and human rights systematically erased — all under the deceptive cover of constitutionalism.
The Proposed 27th Amendment: Institutionalizing the Military’s Civilian Control At the tail end of this constitutional transformation comes the most ominous proposal yet: the 27th Constitutional Amendment, currently under discussion.
This amendment aims to formally embed the military within Pakistan’s civilian governance structure under the guise of a “National Stability Council.” This council would include top
military officers, enabling them to oversee “national security and policy coordination” — effectively granting constitutional legitimacy to the military’s extraconstitutional influence.
Early drafts also suggest new mechanisms for defining judicial “misconduct” and expanded federal powers at the expense of provincial autonomy — eroding the spirit of the 18th Amendment, which had once decentralized authority.
If enacted, the 27th Amendment would cement the hybrid regime permanently, transforming military tutelage from a shadow influence into a constitutional fact.
A Nation Under Constitutional Martial Law
Traditional martial law is visible — soldiers on the streets, constitutions suspended, and assemblies dissolved. Today’s system is subtler but far more enduring. It keeps democratic appearances — parliaments, courts, and elections — yet empties them of substance.
This legalistic authoritarianism is harder to confront because it wears the mask of constitutionalism. It is not declared from GHQ, but enacted in Parliament.
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The cumulative effect of these maneuvers is the hollowing out of the Constitution. Pakistan still has laws, courts, and elections — but they now serve power, not the people.
Imran Khan’s continued incarceration, the persecution of journalists, and the silencing of dissenting voices all flow from this system. The Constitution, once a shield for citizens, has been weaponized into a sword against them.
Pakistan’s tragedy today is not an absence of law — it is the abuse of law. The 26th Amendment has shackled the judiciary; the NAB amendments have neutered accountability; electoral reversals have stolen the people’s mandate; and the looming 27th Amendment threatens to constitutionally legitimize military dominance for generations.
This is not democracy. It is constitutional martial law — a rule by statute instead of by the gun, but with the same aim: to perpetuate the power of the few over the many.
Until citizens, lawyers, and institutions reclaim the moral courage to defend the true spirit of the Constitution, Pakistan will remain a democracy in name only — a republic bound by chains of its own making.
Orhan Khan is a Strategic Communication Expert involved in consulting on marketing and branding strategies for different international corporations. Can be reached at orhankhan1366@proton.me
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position or editorial policy of the publication.