The 2024 Karma Express

If irony had a face, it would be that of 2024. An election year – supposedly a celebration of democracy – has instead become the year of unparalleled political suppression in Pakistan.

From internet blackouts to motorway closures and relentless tear gas raining down on protesters, the political opposition finds itself gasping for air – quite literally. The PTI, the aggrieved party of the hour, screams loudest of all. The irony is so thick it could cut through the 'imported regime' narrative. Isn’t this the same party that, during its own reign (2018-2022), legalised and perfected many of the very methods it now decries? Today, the same medicine they once administered is being delivered back to them, but with a higher dosage and a more bitter taste.

The playbook of political oppression is not new; it has only evolved with each regime. The PTI, once the enforcers, now cry foul. Take a trip down memory lane to their glory days. In 2019, Maryam Nawaz Sharif was arrested in a blatant show of force in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, despite her bail. Back then, such spectacles were justified as acts of ‘national accountability’. The following year, in Karachi, Muhammad Safdar was dragged from his hotel room and arrested after attending a political rally. Was he a flight risk? A national security threat? Or simply guilty of holding a mic too close to a crowd?

The list, as they say, is long and distinguished. Leaders like Mian Javed Latif and Rai Qamar faced arrest on nebulous charges threatening ‘national security’ – a phrase so conveniently vague it can be stretched to fit any dissenting voice. In 2022, raids became the order of the day, with homes of prominent leaders like Attaullah Tarar being invaded under the thin pretext of maintaining order. These were the hallmarks of the PTI’s governance: wielding the stick and calling it justice.

Fast forward to 2024, and the PTI finds itself suffocating under a harsher iteration of its own tactics. The PML-N government, while already having matched the PTI’s love for house raids and midnight arrests, has managed to go above and beyond in other ways.

Internet disruptions and motorway blockades have been honed into precision tools, deployed to cripple not just protests but the very ability to organise. Tear gas no longer marks just protest sites; it paints entire cities as battlegrounds. But then again, the PTI did it first.

Political oppression in Pakistan has become an art form, meticulously crafted and ruthlessly executed. It is no longer about silencing dissent but about erasing its very possibility. The demands of those in power – for loyalty, for compliance, for silence – are wielded like weapons. The playbook has expanded, and so have the consequences for stepping out of line. Opposition leaders are hounded not just on the streets but in courts, in their homes, and online. The system doesn’t just punish dissent – it isolates, humiliates, and grinds it into submission. Pakistan’s rulers don’t just want obedience; they demand surrender.

If history is a pendulum, 2024 is proof that it has swung back with more force than before. Yet, to suggest that the PTI is the sole victim here would be an oversimplification. What we are witnessing is not just a power struggle but the institutionalisation of suppression as a legitimate political weapon. It is no longer about who started it but about who will end it. And if recent years have taught us anything, it is that every regime leaves behind a more potent arsenal for its successors.

As the year draws to a close, one wonders what new tricks will mark the arrival of 2025. The PTI, ever the emotional contender, has always been quick to act on instinct and anger, often resembling a bull charging at a red flag – fast, furious, but sometimes aimless. The PML-N, on the other hand, has long proved itself on tactics, strategy, and the careful calibration of its political manoeuvres.

If the PTI brings the fire, the PML-N brings the forge, reshaping power with meticulous mastermindery. The question, then, is not whether more suppression will occur in 2025 – it’s how far the ruling government is willing to take its playbook and what innovations in control and coercion we might see. The stage is set, the script is evolving, and the audience – the people of Pakistan – can only brace for what comes next.

The year 2024 should have been a referendum on ideas, leadership, and policies. Instead, it has turned into a cautionary tale – a reminder that democracy in Pakistan remains hostage to power plays and oppression. The PTI, for all its noise, is not the first to cry foul, nor will it be the last. Perhaps next time, those in power will realise that the instruments of suppression – no matter how effective today – are double-edged swords that eventually turn on their masters.

For now, though, the PTI must swallow the bitter pill they once prescribed – this time, with an overdose.

The writer is a lawyer.