In Focus
Slide in Pakistan's Democracy Ranking
On 28 February, a Dawn article highlighted an annual PILDAT report of the legislature. According to the report, more legislations were passed in the first year of the 16th NA compared to its predecessor. Since the inaugural session on 29 February 2024, the present legisture sat for 212 hours and 93 sittings, while the 15th NA in its first year held 96 sittings for 297 hours. The number of bills passed by the current NA in its first year is 47, marking a 370 per cent rise from the 10 bills passed by the 15th NA in its first year. According to the PILDAT report, several laws were passed in a hurry; they were neither reviewed by the members of the lower house nor were they taken up with the relevant standing committees. Additionally, there was a 128.6 per cent rise in the promulgation of ordinances, suggesting a “growing trend toward executive-driven legislation,” PILDAT suggested.
The PILDAT report also indicated a violation linked to forming standing committees. After Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was voted to power, the standard procedure prescribed that the standing committee must be elected 30 days within the PM's election. However, PM Sharif's committees were non-functional for more than a month. Furthermore, PILDAT cited the 10 September 2024 incident when members of the opposition were abducted from the parliament by plainclothes men. In this regard, the PILDAT observed: “The use of force within the Parliament House represents a significant challenge to the supremacy of the Parliament, raising broader questions about the state of democracy in Pakistan.” (Ifthikar A Khan, “NA passed more laws in fewer sittings,” Dawn, 28 February 2025; Asim Yasin, “PILDAT’s analysis of yearly performance: NA’s first year sees decline in working hours,” The News International, 28 February 2025)
On democracy:
“The government must recognize that democracy is not merely about winning elections but about upholding democratic norms, ensuring political pluralism, and safeguarding civil liberties,” argues an editorial in The News International
On 27 February, according to the Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Pakistan’s democracy ranking fell by six spots in 2024, among the “top 10 worst performers.” In numerical terms, the ranking dropped from 3.25 in 2024 to 2.84 in 2024. The reasons for this decline are attributed to the political chaos that arose amid elections. It noted the imprisonment of Imran Khan shortly before the elections and how 2024 marked the year with the highest voter turnout in Pakistan’s electoral history. However, the events that ensued before and after the day of the polls raised skepticism regarding the status of democratic rights and freedoms in Pakistan. The report came a few days after a Washington-based think tank that tracks democracy and freedom worldwide, Freedom House, studied 165 independent states and two territories. The index assesses countries based on civil liberties, political culture, governance, electoral process, and pluralism. It categorizes them as an authoritarian or hybrid regime and a full or flawed democracy based on the country’s score. Pakistan has been ranked at 124, with a score of 2.84, positioning it under the authoritarian regime category. It highlighted how “Bangladesh, South Korea and Pakistan were the worst performers, falling in the global rankings by 25, 10 and six places, respectively.” Within the South Asian region it indicated that Pakistan’s general elections on 8 February 2024 were “marred by fraud and violence” along with serious accusations of “political repression and interference by authorities.” (“Pakistan on list of ‘worst performing’ democracies,” Dawn, 28 February 2025; “Pakistan’s democracy ranking drops in 2024 amid poll violence, political chaos,” The News International, 28 February 2025)
On 28 February, an editorial in The News International titled “Democratic decline,” discussed the state of democracy in Pakistan in light of the reports published by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Freedom House. It cited the recent attempt by the government to stop the opposition from holding its “Grand Alliance” conference in Islamabad. It was an “authoritarian display of power” as the government representatives demanded the venue to be sealed off. However, the opposition did not succumb to the government pressures and resumed the event. Consequently, the opposition made the headlines and gained public sympathy, while the government had to deal with a “public relations disaster.” The editorial highlighted how this fresh incident is one of the many ones where the ruling administration has systematically circumvented democratic principles. It also underscored the paradox in the coalition’s actions as both the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan People’s Party have been victims of political disputes, “military usurpations and judicial schemes.” However, the editorial suggested that there is a minor difference between their actions and an authoritarian regime. There remains little difference between the Pakistan Democratic government as it employs tactics on the opposition, similar to those of its predecessor. Hence, the editorial cautioned that if a trend of military interventions and political engineering continued, then the democratic framework of Pakistan would be at risk of collapsing.
UAE and Pakistan ink five agreements in "banking, mining, railways and infrastructure development"
On 27 February, Crown Prince of UAE Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, started his one-day visit to Pakistan.
During his visit, the two countries agreed on "five accords" for collaborating in "banking, mining, infrastructure and railways." The signing ceremony also included the presence of Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir and members of the federal cabinet. Prince Al Nahyan and PM Sharif deliberated on reshaping the steadfast "political relations" between the two countries into a "mutually beneficial economic partnership." PM Sharif expressed content regarding the increased level of cooperation between the two countries. Prince Al Nahyan also expressed UAE's commitment to back the economic growth of Pakistan.
Prince Al Nahyan held a separate discussion with President Zardari. President Zardari also honored the Crown Prince with the country's highest civilian award Nishan-e-Pakistan.
Previously, in January, both countries inked accords worth more than USD 3 billion in areas like "railways, economic zones and infrastructure." In the last 20 years, the UAE has infused close to USD 10 billion in Pakistan. UAE is also the "third largest trading partner" of Pakistan. Pakistan depends heavily upon the remittances sent by more than one million of its citizens residing in the UAE. (Baqir Sajjad Syed, "Multiple accords to boost economic ties with UAE," Dawn, 28 February 2025; "Pakistan, UAE sign five accords to enhance ties," The News International, 28 February 2025; "Abu Dhabi Crown Prince conferred Nishan-e-Pakistan during first official visit," The Express Tribune, 27 February 2025; "Pakistan, UAE boost economic ties with focus on trade and investment," The Express Tribune, 23 February 2025)
In Brief
POLITICS
Federal cabinet doubled to 51 from 21
On 27 February, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) government doubled the cabinet size to 51 members, earlier at 21. A notification from the cabinet division revealed that 28 members have been inducted. The new appointees include four special assistants to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with 12 federal ministers, nine ministers of state and three advisers to the prime minister, bringing the number to 26. The new expansion consists of 30 federal ministers, nine ministers of state, and four advisers and seven special assistants, among whom some were granted the status of ministers of state and federal minister status. Among the new appointees are individuals from the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and other allied parties, while one is a former member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, Mubarak Zeb. (Syed Irfan Raza, “Austerity takes a back seat as cabinet swells,” Dawn, 28 February 2025; Muhammad Anis, “Cabinet size doubles to 50 with new inductions,” The News International, 28 February 2025)
On the 16th legislature:
“Despite an extraordinary legislative performance, the first year of the current NA witnessed overall weakening of democratic and parliamentary norms,” argues an opinion in Dawn
On 28 February, in an opinion titled “Parliament’s first year” in Dawn, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob discussed the performance of the 16th legislature. He noted the 47 laws passed by the legislature, among which 13 important bills were also amended. Among them are the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which he believed had changed the “equation” between the legislature and judiciary. Under the amendment, a special parliamentary committee assumed the power to appoint the three most senior judges of the apex court. Amendments were made to the Elections Act, which declared the Supreme Court’s eight-judge majority verdict in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s reserved seats case as ineffective. Other amendments include bills passed on the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2025, the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024, and the increase in parliamentary salaries and allowances by 176 per cent. In this regard, the author highlights how these laws were passed hurriedly. They were met with strong protests from the opposition and lacked meaningful debate in the standing committees. The author also noted the 30 per cent drop in the working hours of the current assembly compared to the previous three legislatures. He further states the rise in ordinances promulgated from an average of eight in the first year to 16 in the current assembly. Taking these facts into consideration, the author deduced a downtrend in democracy. According to the author, “one-sided legislation, agitation by the opposition within the House, the hurried passage of bills after the suspension of normal parliamentary procedures, and lack of meaningful debate on legislations in the plenary and standing committees” are all reasons behind the weakening of Pakistan’s democracy.
ENVIRONMENT
Germanwatch report highlights Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change
On 28 February, The News International reviewed the “Climate Risk Index 2025” report released by Germanwatch. The report classifies countries in two categories. First, the ones which are severely impacted by “isolated unusual extreme events.” Second, the ones that are witnessing “recurring threats.” Asian countries like Pakistan, India, China and the Philippines are grouped in the second category. The report highlights how due to the lack of concrete efforts to bring down carbon emission, more than 765,000 people have lost their lives across the world. The extreme climate events have also resulted in “losses” worth USD 4.2 trillion. As per the report, China, Honduras and Dominica are the three countries which have been “most affected” by severe weather patterns. Pakistan has also been a victim of extreme weather patterns. In 2022, close to 33 million Pakistanis were impacted due to floods. The floods had led to more than 1700 people losing their lives in Pakistan. Economic losses due to floods add up to USD 15 billion. The restoration cost amounted to USD 16 billion. The 2022 floods in Pakistan were “one of the costliest disasters” ever experienced in the world. (Raza Hussain Qazi, “Climate Risk Index 2025 and Pakistan,” The News International, 28 February 2025)
HEALTH
Fresh cases of polio reported from Punjab and Sindh
On 28 February, two new polio cases were found in Kambar, located in Sindh and Mandi Bahauddin, situated in Punjab. This marks the first case of polio in 2025 in Punjab and the third in Sindh. So far, there have been five cases reported in 2025. The other three polio cases were detected in Sindh (2) and KP (1). In 2024, 74 cases of polio were reported in the country, of which 27 were in Balochistan. Sindh and KP had 23 and 22 cases, respectively. One case of polio each was found in Punjab and Islamabad.
(Ikram Junaidi, “Pakistan reports two new polio cases,” Dawn, 28 February 2025)
|
The EIU report classifies Pakistan as an authoritarian regime. The report also notes that countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India face serious threats to democratic processes, with fraud and violence tarnishing elections in the region.
- Hamid Mir
"Pakistan had the most powerful cricket team under the captaincy of Imran Khan."
Vikrant Gupta
- PTI
The moment you are alive, this moment is alive with you. You do your job, and we'll see what happens.
Seemabia Tahir
- PTI
|
|
|
|
"Most of the laws were hurriedly passed without any meaningful debate."
An opinion in Dawn, 'Parliament’s first year'
|
|
|
