ISLAMABAD: The World Justice Project has ranked Pakistan as the third-worst country for law and order out of a total of 142, as Islamabad grapples with surging militant attacks and suicide bombings in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan while rights activists accuse the government of clamping down on freedom of speech and expression. 

The World Justice Project describes itself as an independent, multidisciplinary organization that is working to create knowledge, build awareness and stimulate action to advance the rule of law worldwide. 

In its annual list released on Oct. 23, the WJP said rule of law has once again weakened in a majority of countries surveyed this year. Pakistan was ranked at 140 out of a total of 142 countries in its Order and Security criteria. 

“Security is one of the defining aspects of any rule of law society and is a fundamental function of the state,” the WJP said. “It is also a precondition for the realization of the rights and freedoms that the rule of law seeks to advance.”

Only Mali, ranked at 141 and Nigeria, ranked at 142, were placed below Pakistan in the Order and Security index by the WJP. 

The WJP ranked Pakistan at 129 out of 142 in the overall Rule of Law index. The overall rating is given by considering eight factors: Constraints on Government Powers, Absence of Corruption, Open Government, Fundamental rights, Order and Security, Regulatory Enforcement, Civil Justice and Criminal Justice. 

The report ranked Pakistan at 103 for Constraints on Government Powers, 120 for Absence of Corruption, 106 for Open Government, 125 for Fundamental Rights, 127 for Regulatory Enforcement, 128 for Civil Justice and 98 for Criminal Justice.

The WJP said in its press release that a majority of countries had improved on ensuring effective criminal justice but authoritarian trends have continued to set them back on protecting human rights and democracy.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since Nov. 22 in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan ever since its fragile truce with the Pakistani Taliban broke down. Separatist militants in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province have also increased attacks against security forces and civilians in recent months. 

Meanwhile, opposition parties and rights activists have accused the government and Pakistan’s powerful military of using coercive tactics to suppress freedom of speech and their right to protest. Rights activists have also pointed to frequent Internet disruptions in the country, accusing the state of clamping down on people’s right to enjoy digital freedoms.

The government and Pakistan’s powerful military deny these allegations. 
 

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan and ordered his release in a case involving gifts acquired from a state repository, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said. 

The reference, popularly called the new Toshakhana case, was filed in July and involves a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple is accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository.

Khan’s wife, who was also under arrest in the case, got bail from the IHC last month. 

Before the new case was filed, the ex-premier, who has been in jail since last August, was convicted in four cases. Two of the cases have since been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, while he was acquitted in the remaining two.

“Former prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, currently jailed, has been granted bail in the Toshakhana 2 case,” the PTI said in a message shared with media. “Islamabad High Court has ordered his release.”

“This was the last government’s case [against Khan], all previous prosecutions have lost steam and collapsed,” Khan’s lawyer Salman Safdar told reporters outside the court after the IHC delivered its verdict.

However, it is unlikely that Khan will be released after the IHC order as he is also under arrest in a number of cases related to riots in May 2023 in which his alleged supporters ransacked government and military buildings after Khan’s brief arrest in a separate case. 

Khan’s convictions earlier this year prevented him from contesting the Feb. 8 election. The former prime minister and his party alleges the cases are politically motivated cases and a ploy by the caretaker government, Pakistan’s electoral watchdog, the powerful military and his political rivals, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, to keep Khan and his party away from elections. All three deny the allegations. 

Khan, who was ousted from office after a parliamentary vote in April 2022, has since waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the country’s powerful military, which is thought to be aligned with the government.

He continues to remain popular among the masses, especially the youth, with his party’s rallies drawing thousands of people. Khan’s party has held several rallies over the past few months to build public pressure to secure his release from prison.

The PTI has announced it will hold an anti-government “long march” to Pakistan’s capital on Nov. 24 to demand Khan’s release from prison, the release of the party’s jailed leaders and supporters, and independence of the judiciary, which it says was compromised after the government recently passed the 26th amendment. 

The government says the recent amendments related to the judiciary are meant to smooth out its functioning and tackle a backlog of cases.