Two decades ago, the American Bar Association shed light on Pakistan's legal and constitutional crises. In 2008, hundreds of U.S. lawyers and local bar associations supported the Pakistani legal fraternity when its military dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, arrested Pakistan's Supreme Court justices. Scores of judges and lawyers who dared to march were imprisoned. Fast-forward to 2025, and Pakistan faces a crisis again. The country's judiciary suffers an onslaught from the ruling military-political apparatus, an unprecedented crackdown damaging a fragile justice system. Alarming trends including:
Constitutional amendments to influence judicial matters despite country-wide resistance;
- Empowering military courts to try civilians;
- Curtailing freedom of speech and the right to assembly of political opponents and;
- Harassing justices and lawyers by the military and infringement of due process.
