Published on: September 5, 2025 3:36 AM
Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah on Thursday said that the talk of a “hybrid system” prevalent in the country actually amounted to an admission to the presence of a dictatorship.
Addressing the Karachi Bar Association (KBA), Justice Minallah said: “It is something to accept that people today say there is a hybrid system, that [actually] means there is dictatorship and there is no constitutional governance.”
He blamed what he said was the “lack of constitutional governance” in the country that was responsible for elite capture over the rule of law or the Constitution.
“I had to write in many high court orders that there is no rule of law or Constitution in the country; there is elite capture,” he explained.
He said that the history of the country’s judiciary was “not something to be proud of for me”.
The judge said that his generation had passed its time, caused whatever destruction it could to the country, and should never be afraid to admit it, adding that they could not blame anyone else and that this had kept happening throughout the country’s history.
Justice Minallah said that, as per the oath, judges had to impartially decide cases in accordance with the law and defend the Constitution without fear or favour, adding that the judiciary at all levels was bound to the oath and answerable to God and the people.
He explained that if there was a lack of constitutional governance in the country and he, as a judge, did nothing about it, he would not only be violating the Constitution but also his oath.
“Unfortunately, we are taught distorted history, and no one tells us the truth. Our generation did whatever it could do; the most we can do now is to hand over the baton to you and at least tell you the truth.
“The societies in which the truth is eliminated and truth ceases to be spoken are destroyed.”
He said the Constitution was the expression of the people’s will and premised on the people’s right to rule through elected representatives, adding that it demanded that no institution or political officeholder would engage in political engineering and that any representatives would be elected through fair and transparent means.
“Unfortunately, that too has remained a dream for our history.”
He said the only way forward was to abide by the Constitution and govern the country accordingly, together with the upcoming young generation.
“This idealism of the youth will bring a change in the country. We know that fundamental rights are meaningless, there is no freedom of expression, there is a restriction on political thoughts and criticism,” he said, adding that the country would not have split if there had not been a clampdown on the freedom of expression.
Separately, CJP Yahya Afridi on Thursday observed that timely and effective justice is not only a constitutional mandate but also a moral responsibility. He said this while chairing the sixth interactive progress review session at SC.
