The state’s newfound obsession with sedition appears to be everlasting. Politicians, whose job it is to do politics, are caught off guard by “seditious” utterances. Given the current dynamics in power corridors, Fawad Chaudhry’s detention in the early hours of Wednesday in Lahore is neither unexpected nor shocking. We have Shehbaz Gill, Azam Swati, Imran Riaz, Arshad Sharif, and others who have been hunted, jailed, (supposedly) tortured, and eventually released on sedition accusations. Since the news of Fawad Chaudhry’s imprisonment broke, the cash-strapped country has been making the rounds in the international media. While the ruling coalition’s activists have decided to remain silent, the majority of the population has expressed worry about the charges and the way in which the former minister was apprehended. The million-dollar question is: what will the government gain from this case, or what has the government gained from the cases of Azam Swati, Shahbaz Gill, or journalists? In all of these cases, the government has lost goodwill because people were released due to the involvement of the courts, and this case will eventually bite the government. Mr Chaudhry may be condemned for celebrating several unnecessary arrests and arrests of his political opponents when in power, but this does not give the government permission to imprison him. The peculiarity in Mr Chaudhry’s case is that the complainant is a state organ: the Pakistan Election Commission (ECP). On the complaint of the ECP secretary, Umar Hameed, a first information report was filed against him in Islamabad, citing sections 153-A (promotion of enmity between groups), 506 (criminal intimidation), 505 (statement conducing to public mischief), and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The rationale for the lawsuit is that Mr Chaudhry threatened the ECP and claimed that “those who become part of the caretaker administration will be pursued till they are punished.” Come on, people. The ECP should concentrate on the next elections, and the government in its efforts to combat inflation and debt, as fighting the opposition may not give relief to ordinary citizens. The economic problem would have been defeated long ago if the administration had fought the opposition with the same rigour that it is fighting the opposition. Additionally, the ECP shouldn’t become so sensitive about speeches in public. We are currently in the midst of the disastrous Karachi election, but the ECP has reported lawmakers to the police for their utterances. Given the history of the government, it is anticipated that nothing will change. *