Mubashar Nadeem
Pakistan’s democracy is breathing its last. The parliament, which should be the nucleus of democratic governance, has been reduced to a symbolic chamber of political bargains. The proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment has once again exposed the decay of Pakistan’s parliamentary and institutional system. What is being presented as reform carries serious implications for the balance of power among the federation, judiciary, and provinces. Provisions such as establishing a Constitutional Court, altering the NFC Award, and centralizing administrative control threaten both parliamentary supremacy and provincial autonomy.
The real tragedy, however, lies not in the amendment itself but in the silence of the parliamentarians who should have been its first line of defense. Instead of upholding parliamentary sovereignty, they have willingly turned the legislature into a rubber-stamp forum. Most parliamentarians appear more loyal to party leaderships than to the Constitution. Consequently, parliament has lost its legislative dignity and moral authority. What remains is a hollow institution, performing rituals of democracy without embodying its spirit.
The judiciary has not escaped this political manipulation either. Politicians praise judicial verdicts when they favor them and dismiss the courts as biased when they do not. This dual behavior has eroded institutional credibility and deepened public cynicism. The proposed constitutional court under the 27th Amendment, instead of resolving tensions, risks politicizing the judiciary further by turning it into yet another arena of power contestation. When parliament and judiciary lose mutual respect, democracy transforms into institutional chaos.
The 18th Amendment once promised a fair division of powers, ensuring provincial autonomy and institutional independence. The 27th Amendment now threatens to reverse that progress by recentralizing authority in Islamabad. This reflects not reform but regression — a political attempt to control rather than to empower. Tragically, the very parliament that should guard federalism is endorsing measures that undermine it. This speaks volumes about how far Pakistan’s political class has drifted from its democratic responsibilities.
In truth, democracy in Pakistan is being undone not by dictators but by democrats themselves. Parliamentarians who once raised the slogan of “sovereignty of parliament” have willingly surrendered that sovereignty for political convenience. The judiciary’s credibility is being tested through media trials, while the Constitution is interpreted through partisan lenses. When politics becomes an industry of self-interest, democracy becomes its first casualty.
If democracy is to survive, Pakistan’s parliamentarians must reclaim their constitutional role with courage and integrity. They must restore parliament as the true guardian of the Constitution, not as a sub-office of executive power. Equally, the judiciary must maintain independence without falling into the trap of political influence. Institutional harmony — not confrontation — is the only way forward. The 27th Amendment, in its current form, risks destabilizing that harmony beyond repair.
Pakistan’s democratic survival depends on political maturity. The parliament must legislate with conscience, not compulsion. Politicians must understand that weakening institutions only weakens themselves. If the 27th Amendment is passed without consensus and reflection, it will be remembered not as reform, but as another nail in the coffin of Pakistan’s fading democracy.
