National Democratic Movement (NDM) leader and former senator Afrasiab Khattak has voiced serious concerns over the state of Pakistan’s governance, citing corruption within the national bank and the heavy debt burdening the country’s institutions. In a recent address to a gathering of lawyers at the Balochistan High Court, Khattak underscored the urgent need to adhere to the constitution to prevent Pakistan from being exploited as a pawn in international conflicts.
The event was attended by prominent legal figures, including Balochistan High Court Bar Association President Muhammad Afzal Advocate and Pakistan Bar Council’s Munir Ahmed Kakar Advocate. Khattak received a warm welcome, marking his first visit to the Balochistan High Court in 44 years.
Reflecting on his past, Khattak recounted his imprisonment in Mach jail for opposing military rule during Zia’s era and his early resistance to General Ayub Khan’s regime. He lamented the military’s disregard for the people’s will, which he believes led to the secession of East Pakistan in 1971. Despite the military’s temporary withdrawal following the partition, Khattak said, they continued to plot conspiracies against former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Khattak criticized the military’s unchecked power to undermine the constitution, painting a grim picture of a bankrupt Pakistan reliant on foreign debt to pay salaries. He claimed that the government lacks authority and that the parliament is overshadowed by military influence.
Highlighting the issue of enforced disappearances, Khattak condemned the intelligence agencies’ role in abducting activists, dissidents, and students. He said that he had written a letter to Pakistan’s Defense Ministry in 2015, seeking to criminalize enforced disappearances, but to no avail. He said that the bill was re-tabled by Farhatullah Babar and Raza Rabbani, but nothing came out of it.
Khattak pointed to the impunity with which military leaders violate the constitution. He recalled Peshawar High Court’s sentencing of former military dictator Parvez Musharraf to death for suspending the constitution of Pakistan, saying that Musharraf did not spend even five minutes in prison. He was flown out of Pakistan to evade punishment, Khattak said.