From the very beginning of my intellectual journey, I have grappled with the question regarding the necessity, nature, and possibility of societal and state reform and the place of law, constitution, and the judiciary in this regard. Once I became a practicing lawyer and experienced both the violently repressive as well as the transformative nature of the constitution and the judicial process on the people of Pakistan, I temporarily suspended my philosophical doubts into the foundational question of the necessity of societal and state reform as well as about the usefulness of the constitution and an independent judiciary for such reform. Since at least the lawyers’ and judicial movement (2007-2009) in Pakistan, I live my life as a practicing lawyer on the foundational presumption that societal and state transformation is possible and the constitution and an independent judiciary can contribute to a limited extent towards such reform. Another philosophical presumption ingrained in my thinking is a philosophy of the constitution and an independent judiciary rooted in progressive legal and constitutional thinking, both influenced by liberal and leftist legal doctrines. Therefore, this blog is based on these fundamental presumptions, although there is no bar in the contributors challenging these presumptions. I must also acknowledge that this precise endeavour, in the form of a blog, is inspired by ‘Constitutional Law and Philosophy’ blog published by Gautam Bhatia, and I continue to learn and be inspired by articles on that blog.
This blog revolves around three themes. Firstly, although it accepts the transformative nature of the constitution and independent judiciary but it investigates as to whether the constitution as a fundamental law and an independent judiciary is possible in a country like Pakistan, in which the principle contradiction that subverts the primacy of the constitution and the independence of the judiciary is the conflict between de-jure power as symbolised by the consitution, and de-facto power as symbolised by the executive, especially the domination by the military establishment. It is this principle contradiction precisely between the forces of constitutionalism and the forces of exceptionalism predominantly symbolised by military establishment, which provides the central analytical framework to understand the battle for constitutionalism and an independent judiciary in Pakistan. Apart from this foundational question, this blog is an open intellectual platform for all macro questions regarding the jurisprudence and practice of constitutionalism and the independence of the judiciary. Secondly, it is in the context of this principle contradiction that the recent assault on constitutionalism and an independent judiciary through the enactment of the Pseudo Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024, and Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025, needs to be understood. It is but the latest attempt to subjugate constitutionalism and an independent judiciary to a quasi-legal framework, dominated by the military establishment. Thirdly, the trajectory of the battle between constitutionalism and executive exceptionalism dominated by the military establishment cannot be understood without an investigation into the resistance posed by Pakistani society in general including the lawyers’ community and a substantial minority of independent judges. Moreover, this blog is not a mere theoretical and intellectual exercise but endeavours to contribute to such resistance in favor of democratic constitutionalism and an independent judiciary. In short, this blog seeks to bridge the gap between theory and praxis.
In relation to the above three themes, this blog adopts the following approach. Firstly, it publishes articles on the theoretical and praxis elements of the above three themes. Secondly, the predominant focus of this blog would be on the pressing contemporary questions regarding the enactment, implementation, and consequences of the Pseudo Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024, and Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025. Thirdly, a part of this blog would be the documentation of this contemporary struggle against these two pseudo-constitutional amendments, and like measures, in the form of archiving the main repressive and resistance measures and actions.
I hope you will join and enjoy this adventure with us with the central belief: Always resist and transform, Never despair nor decay.
Faisal Siddiqi,
Adovocate Supreme Court,
Karachi, Pakistan.