Daily Times

Police launched a crackdown across Punjab and arrested PTI leaders and workers for violating Section 144 during their protests on February 8 against the February 8 of the last year. It looks like we have a national sport to play with Section 144. The Sindh government deserves praise for not enforcing the section.

While PTI marked the day as a ‘black day’, the government marked it as a ‘ban day’. Gatherings were outlawed in Punjab, Balochistan and Islamabad, while KP became the party’s last battleground, where a rally in Swabi charged up its supporters. The Punjab government’s notification cited “apprehensions” of violence, yet it failed to specify why such concerns did not extend to the ruling party’s political events.

PTI leaders addressed the Swabi rally, alleging that last year’s elections were rigged to facilitate constitutional amendments, particularly the controversial 26th amendment. As accusations flew, the government hit back. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed PTI’s protests as an attempt to sabotage Pakistan’s global image, linking them to the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Section 144 is a peculiar instrument. It appears and disappears as per political convenience, enforced selectively and often with a vague rationale. In Islamabad, it was extended for two months ahead of PTI’s “Final Call” protest but lifted at the government’s discretion. In Balochistan, it was imposed during a gathering of the Baloch Yekjehti Committee but ignored when protests erupted over an abduction case in Khuzdar. It is not a law anymore – it is a political switch.

Beyond the legality, the core issue is democratic space. If a government is confident in its legitimacy, why does it fear peaceful gatherings? Why impose a sweeping ban without offering a level playing field? The silence from Sindh stands out. It did not join the Section 144 bandwagon, proving that political stability does not always require legal hammers.

For now, Punjab and Islamabad play by the rule of bans. The score? A familiar one-crackdowns, court battles and the deafening sound of silenced dissent. *