Hybrid System Means Dictatorship, Constitution Is the Only Way Forward: Justice Athar Minallah

Karachi: Supreme Court Judge Justice Athar Minallah has said that had freedom of expression not been curbed in 1971, the country would not have been divided, adding that basic rights in Pakistan have become meaningless. He emphasized that a “hybrid system” is nothing but dictatorship, and the only way forward is strict adherence to the Constitution.

Speaking at a seminar organized by the Karachi Bar Association on *“Judicial Independence, Constitutional Governance, and Access to Justice”*, Justice Minallah served as the chief guest alongside former Supreme Court Bar President Muneer A. Malik.

Justice Minallah noted that for 77 years Pakistan’s governance has lacked true constitutional foundations. He recalled that landmark cases such as the Molvi Tamizuddin ruling still instill fear when names of certain judges are mentioned. He paid tribute to judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) and to lawyers who sacrificed their lives during the Lawyers’ Movement, stressing that their struggle was for the supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law.

He lamented that judicial history over the past seven decades was not a source of pride, as political engineering and deviation from constitutional governance have persisted. “The essence of the Constitution is that sovereignty belongs to the people, exercised only through their elected representatives,” he said, stressing that institutions must refrain from political interference.

Justice Minallah warned that a society that abandons truth eventually collapses, adding that Pakistan was undermined from the very beginning due to repeated violations of constitutional principles.

Quoting Muneer A. Malik, he concluded, *“A hybrid system is dictatorship. Without constitutional governance, we cannot progress. The way forward is to uphold and implement the Constitution in its true spirit.”*