In a shocking development last week, several MNAs of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were arrested by Islamabad Police from Parliament House over alleged violations of a new law and harassment of police during the Sangjani rally.
The controversy triggered rare unity among parliamentarians, pressuring National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to issue production orders for them and declare Parliament Lodges a sub-jail. In their first appearance in the Lower House after their arrest, the MNAs alleged “mistreatment,” with Sadiq assuring them of justice. He also lamented allegations of some PTI leaders that he had consented to the arrests as the speaker.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub claimed all lines were crossed to “humiliate Parliament,” while former speaker Asad Qaisar alleged “the worst kind of excesses” for PTI leaders and demanded the withdrawal of all cases against the party’s workers, particularly founder Imran Khan. While the arrests from Parliament House were a new development, harassment of politicians in the opposition is nothing new for Pakistan. Under the PTI-led government, too, PMLN leaders Khawaja Asif, Saad Rafique and Rana Sanaullah received similar treatment. The country has repeatedly seen the worst abuses of democracy, including brawls in Parliament over legislative business.
Over the years, all major political players—sworn to protect and uphold the Constitution as parliamentarians—have betrayed both the letter and spirit of constitutional democracy. This is most evident in how they treat each other and the dignity of Parliament, all while hiding behind years of rhetoric about the rule of law, democracy, and constitutional norms. Nothing is more humiliating for a Pakistani than to see his elected leaders misbehaving in Parliament. Unfortunately, a democracy breathing its last gasps, for various reasons, continues to die by a thousand cuts as members of the ruling elite—regardless of political affiliation—collude with undemocratic forces from within and outside to win their personal battles.