Had the fiery conscience of esteemed writer Faiz Ahmed Faiz known that his no-punches-pulled commentary against the usurping of fundamental liberties would be just as pertinent decades after he had gone, he would have sharpened his pencil and left us with a few more revolutionary kuliyat. Because while we may not be living under a dictator’s whip , the obsession of the power-that-be with ensuring that no one walks with his head held high (koi na sar utha kar chale) has only gotten stronger and viler. Despite gaining an interim bail from a judicial magistrate in Quetta, PTI stalwart Hassan Niazi is yet to see the light of day. And while no one–regardless of their beliefs–deserves to be stripped of his right to a free trial–others in his party are faring far worse off because they do not enjoy his stature in the legal circles or prolific family connections. There is no information whatsoever available on the whereabouts of PTI activist Azhar Mashwani said to have been illegally abducted on Thursday. That the tragic episode occurred on the heels of his scathing criticism of the Punjab police and caretaker setup in the midst of the political fray adds insult to injury; serving as yet another reminder of how in these chaotic times, rights do not hold and fights can get as ugly as they wish. Meanwhile, a province-wide crackdown in a bid to maintain law and order, saw hundreds of ordinary party supporters get arrested by Punjab police. The number flashing on the television screens varies between 1600 and 1800, but it remains to be seen how many actual sons of the soil were plucked from the roads in broad daylight only because one party felt entitled to do so. This is a gross violation of the constitutionally-mandated right to hold a political opinion and the right to assembly. Then again, the rigours of our coveted code appear to have lost its appeal in the dirty power games. Those sitting behind the wheel can only be reminded about their gross fallacies and how a functional government is not supposed to fight on the front foot. They need to realise the errors in their own ways and spell out to the caretaker setup that it only stands as a connecting bridge between one democratically-elected government and the next. Any other propensity would be better reserved for evil, absolutist tyrannies. *