Democracies, new, old and aspiring, require alert, astute and fiercely independent sentries in various forms. Guards that keep democracy close to its origins of serving the people and allow the truth to be told unhindered and unfiltered and in the process, protect citizens from excessive use of power by the powerful.

So where do Pakistan’s watchdogs stand? Let us examine the most important watchdogs and their state under the present governance structure.

In an attempt to fulfil its international commitments towards human rights, including the most progressive blueprint of women’s rights, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, all national and provincial assemblies have passed Acts to establish the National Commission(s) on the Status of Women (NCSW) and provincial women’s commissions and at the federal level a National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). Barring KP, whose commission has a more restricted mandate, the laws clearly mandate independent commissions with powers to advise the government and ensure violations, discrimination and inequality are questioned and reported. The human rights commission has suo motu powers in case of violations and the power to summon public servants during the course of making enquiries. These powers were exercised very effectively under the previous chairperson, Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan. The NCSW has similar powers.

Yet it is only on paper that we have independent human rights watchdogs. In reality, since the present government came into power, the NCHR, the NCSW and the Punjab Women’s Commission have been made dysfunctional. There is no chairperson and the statutory functions of these commissions are not being fulfilled.

This is not the worst part of it. The most controversial aspect - overlooked and forgotten - is that the powers of these independent statutory commissions have been usurped by a government department. The departments now perform the role of the Executive (its natural role) and that of the watchdog (keeping a check on its work). Aside from there being a major conflict of interest, it also reveals the government’s willful ignorance towards the distinct difference between a body that executes parliament’s will (the government falls under this) and the independent body that ensures that the Executive remains within lawful bounds.

After over two years of this government being in power, it is safe to conclude that this is a deliberate attempt to destroy these commissions.

One of the most severe and undisguised crackdowns has been on one of the most important watchdogs of our times: the media. The media once described by Lord Denning, the well-known English judge, as “the watchdogs of justice” is facing challenges it last faced during the harsh dictatorship of Gen Zia. We have seen news anchors and reporters being kidnapped and illegally detained, media houses being fed on what to say and court cases being instigated regularly against journalists. This is an attempt to blur the picture, distort facts and feed us an obscured, one sided narrative. There have been enough recent incidents of muffling the voices of journalists that we can call the process a systematic disruption – limiting our ability to gain the truth and increasing our access to propaganda. The censoring of social media activism is another attempt to control the national narrative. The most recent notification by the federal cabinet of the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020 is an example of how threatened the government is and how fearful we should be that there is no political or cultural space left for debate.

Globally, civil society organisations are considered one of the pillars of a healthy democratic culture. International bodies now acknowledge the role of these organisations as vested in the interest of the people and as important partners to government towards the attainment of fundamental human rights. Anti-democratic governments recognise all too well the contribution NGOs make - they keep those in power in check. So we should not be surprised that in Pakistan civil society organisations are under a systematic attack. One just has to speak to NGOs, both national and international, and learn that any organisation that has even vaguely worked on rights - whether making people aware of them or showing people how to organise and demand them or speaking up when these rights are violated - have been told to shut shop. NGOs have been accused of shaping a different narrative and are now seen as a threat. NGOs have complained about their offices being visited by officials with interrogation taking place for hours, extensive written clarifications being sought and aggressive challenging of activities and work on the ground.

So far, 20 INGOs have been ordered to leave Pakistan. Others that are allowed to operate do so under heavy bureaucratic red tape, limited and short-term programming and the fear that they may be next. In the arbitrary manner in which this policy operates, NGOs asked to leave were not provided written reasons, though an appeal process was allowed. In 2015, the then interior minister stated that “NGOs working against Pakistan’s strategic, security, economic or other interests will have their registration cancelled.” Considering the PTI government has carried forward this policy against NGOs in the same rigorous manner reveals that this is not in fact a government policy - apart from CPEC the PTI government has disrupted every other policy or initiative of the previous government. Wherever its origins lie it is obvious that the role of civil society is not one appreciated as conducive to the political and social cleansing process taking place right now.

The key role of political parties not in power is to oppose - keeping the ruling party in check through question and critique. In Pakistan though an unfortunate culture of political victimisation has always prevailed the present regime has taken this to a new, unprecedented level. The targeting of the political opposition under the old and unimaginative allegations of corruption but under the new mantra of cleansing Pakistan has meant that anyone that did not cross over to the ruling side is now likely to face charges of corruption. So widespread and strategic has been the attack on only some opposition parties, that even solid cases of corruption now also seem questionable.

Burying opposition leaders under courts cases and court dates and at times even changing the order in which cases should be tried (cases initiated in the appellate court when it is not the court of first instance) is a clear message that political opposition is not welcome or needed. Merely being in the opposition can result in them being guilty until proven innocent. All this takes place while feeding a constant public service message that with the political opposition in jail a Naya Pakistan will suddenly emerge. Opposition in parliament is our collective watchdog - holding our elected leaders to account. If the ruling party fully comprehended its one-point agenda of accountability, the importance and necessity of a vocal, vibrant, and at times cacophonous political opposition, would not be lost on them.

The judiciary is the keeper of the constitutional order and therefore the ultimate watchdog of our democracy and its citizens. In the 73 years of Pakistan’s history, the judiciary has had many chances to side with democracy and democratic institutions and echo the constitutional guarantee of the rule of law above all else. Unfortunately, too often it has stood on the wrong side.

Yet attempts have been made by a few brave and valiant judges, like the 2017 Faizabad sit-in judgment, where the overreaching powers of all powerful state institutions were boldly and succinctly questioned and the freedoms of the constitution reiterated. But any such attempt activates an immediate exercise to dismiss such judges. The hounding of Justice Qazi Faez Isa since the judgement should not therefore be a surprise. This short term strategy to muffle the judiciary is destructive and dangerous.

The case above is an exercise in showing that these are not isolated incidents or unintended actions, as many well-wishers of this government are fooled into believing. They are deliberate and systematic acts to kill the seeds of a democratic culture, of which targeting of watchdogs is the first important step. Do not let the transition of power through the 2018 elections mask the weaknesses of our democracy. Ask where our watchdogs are - for their voice, or lack of, reflects where we stand today.

The writer is a barrister.   She tweets: @BenazirJatoi