THE public is being misguided with comparisons to the West in Pakistan’s parliament, academia and media. In a split-screen view of Pak-West politics, it’s evident that the “King’s Men” in the US Supreme Court have managed to shield Trump from standing trial for the January 6 incident ahead of the elections.
In Pakistan, all eyes are on the judiciary to clean house and permanently safeguard democracy from would-be dictators, seeking NROs on May 9 as part of a strategy with the “King’s Men” for a one-party, 100-year dictatorship—a mirror act of January 6 (USA), January 8 (Brazil), and the unlawful suspension of the UK Parliament on September 10.
After the January 6 immunity ruling, Biden called for an independent judiciary. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has filed articles of impeachment against two Supreme Court justices. The US Constitution states that justices “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.” Senator Whitehouse has urged the Supreme Court to uphold ethical standards and Justice Jackson has expressed openness to enforceable Supreme Court ethics (Politico, Sept 1, 2024).
The US Supreme Court has essentially hijacked American democracy. In Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections, the author exposes how conservatives pack the courts with far-right lawyers and judges, passing laws that 70% of Americans disagree with. Pakistan’s judiciary must protect democracy from rogue justices, as mounting evidence in Western democracies—including CNN’s report that Trump’s next coup has already begun—suggests the threat of authoritarianism.
Chief Justice Isa delivered a landmark judgment in the party symbol case, upholding democracy within both political parties and the country, countering the political playbook of populist sleaze from advanced Western democracies. The US Supreme Court, following federalist Justice Marshall, has blocked 22 states from removing Trump from the ballot for January 6, including Section 14(3). This essentially turns democracy into a dictatorship by substituting the popular vote with the electoral vote, allowing Congress to elect the President under the 12th Amendment. The ruling acknowledges the states’ right to include Trump on the ballot but bars them from removing him.
Today, holding would-be dictators accountable is the judiciary’s democratic test of “one country, one law.” Pakistan’s justices are unlikely to legitimize May 9 at the cost of democracy, as seen with January 6 in the U.S. and the suspension of Parliament in the UK. Pakistan’s judiciary stands at a crossroads, tasked with upholding the law to save democracy. While international examples show how courts have failed to maintain democratic checks and balances, Pakistan’s judiciary must prevent similar outcomes. The protection of democratic institutions from growing threats is vital, as wannabe dictators will only become more sophisticated in their attempts to undermine state institutions.
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
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