Scrutiny over our human rights record seems to boom the loudest in Congress; threatening to undermine Pakistan’s position on the global stage again at a time when we are already isolated internationally. It wasn’t too long ago that US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken wrote a letter expressing concern about political victimisation in Pakistan, urging authorities to “make sure that political figures or citizens who simply want to demonstrate are not subjected to anti-democratic consequences.” Clearly, Blinken doesn’t know a thing about our history and our failure to learn from our mistakes. Being a dissident-or even, raising a critical voice-has always been dangerous in Pakistan, regardless of the target. Political parties, judges and ordinary citizens alike are routinely thrown into jail and even attacked for challenging the state’s narrative. But the problem, once confined to the country’s peripheries, is only getting worse with time, with journalists in major cities such as Islamabad and Lahore now threatened for speaking the truth. While Imran Khan’s arrest was certainly unlawful, democracy has never really prevailed in Pakistan. The PTI chief’s own government is notorious for its failure to protect freedom of speech, imposing legislation to restrict social media and even dictating who can appear on television talk shows. In recent years, the space for dissent in Pakistan has shrunk to the point of suffocation. It’s not surprising then that history is repeating itself with political opponents being thrown into jail left and right, without probable cause and certainly in complete disregard for the democratic principles we claim to be governed by. While attention from the US at a crucial juncture might be seen as beneficial, it is unlikely that pressure alone can compel those in power to take a different course of action. Our civilian institutions are far too eroded to take a stand against those pulling the strings who are busy reining in political opposition and muzzling the media to take ownership of the problems they have created. In the rare instance that we do attract scrutiny for suppressing human rights, our response remains predictable. Indeed, it shouldn’t surprise us if the government goes ahead and denies all allegations of censorship. *