Creating dissent

In an ideal world, or in a truly democratic country, there should be no debate about protests and dissent being equated with sedition. And yet here we are again: with opposition politicians facing charges of sedition. Terming any individual a traitor or a person who has committed sedition is not a charge that should be made lightly. Yet after a series of accusations of doing India’s bidding, mainly directed against PML-N leaders, a case was lodged by one Babar Rasheed of Shahdara in Lahore under which 40 PML-N leaders, including three former Lt Generals, have been accused of sedition as per the FIR lodged by the concerned SHO. Some would say this in itself is peculiar: the government seems to have been consistently unaware of almost anything happening right under its very nose. It is obviously unlikely that so many people from a single party could be involved in treasonous offences.

This is an extraordinary development in any democracy. It coincides, of course, with the ongoing opposition movement, which will now begin on October 16. Such opposition movements are not considered treason or sedition in other countries where democracy prevails. It is also true that the government has distanced itself from the charges made against the 40 or so leaders. There is clearly now not a semblance of harmony between the country’s political parties, who all have major representation in parliament. The sedition case adds yet another disturbing chapter to Pakistan’s history, in which many politicians have been termed traitors, one after the other. The government can simply not save itself by denying that it knows anything. It should know and it should be able to answer the questions put to it.

We need to stop treating anyone who seeks their rights or speaks their minds as enemies. As political leaders have pointed out in the past, the constitution gives every person the right to association and to speech and expression. In the very recent past too, we have seen sedition and treason charges being brought against the youth who were protesting in Islamabad. All this reflects a fickle and frivolous attitude of the government towards the constitution. This trivialization of constitutional matters must stop. And for the sake of the people of this country and particularly its large young population we need a way to extend all facets of democracy and progressive politics in the country. That is the only way we will be able to move forward with a sense of hope and confidence in these troubled times. And there is no hope to be achieved from slapping labels of sedition or worse on political leaders – no matter how much you disagree with them.