Pakistan's ranking in World Justice Project Rule of Law Index warrants reflection

Islamabad: Pakistan's ranking in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2025 warrants reflection and not dismissal or indiscriminate blame. Pakistan secured the 130th spot among 143 nations in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2025, a report has detailed.

The index assesses eight components, including constraints on government powers, corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice. Several of these dimensions are influenced by courts but they do not determine them all. The overall standing of the country must be seen as the picture of its wider rule of law environment and not a verdict on its courts, a report in leading Pakistani daily 'The Express Tribune' mentioned.

Pakistan secured 129th spot in Civil Justice and was ranked 101st in Criminal Justice. According to the WJP Rule of Law Index 2025, Pakistan scored 0.36 on accessibility and affordability of civil justice, 0.28 on unreasonable delay and 0.35 on effective enforcement.

"International indices can reveal shortcomings and encourage reform, but surveys and expert assessments should be considered alongside institutional records and lived experience. Some evidence underlying annual assessments predates recent changes, whose effects may take time to emerge. Pakistan's ranking warrants reflection, neither dismissal nor indiscriminate blame," Shahid Hussain Kamboyo wrote in 'The Express Tribune'.

"Ultimately, justice must be felt in the worker who recovers his wages, the widow who secures her inheritance, and the pensioner who receives relief while it still matters. The true measure of progress is not a better place on a table, but a lasting public confidence that the law will protect people when they need it most," it added.

On October 30, a leading human rights organisation severely condemned the 10-year prison sentences handed down to human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in Pakistan, in connection with a security breach case, describing it as a "clear example of the helplessness of the judiciary in Pakistan, the absence of justice, and a system based on military dominance".

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) said that sentencing the couple to 10 years in prison each "is an attempt to silence the struggle for the defence of human rights and justice." It stated that Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha were not only lawyers but human rights activists who always raised their voices against the atrocities committed against the Baloch, Pashtun, and other oppressed nations, and have consistently played a leading role in the struggle for justice.

In a statement shared on X, the BYC said, "Sentencing Iman Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha to ten years in prison each is a clear example of the helplessness of the judiciary in Pakistan, the absence of justice, and a system based on military dominance. It is a reality that those who tirelessly struggle day and night to secure justice for others in a tyrannical state, and who raise their voices for the protection of human rights, eventually find themselves standing in the dock of a court under an oppressive system, forced to face state injustice themselves."

It mentioned that Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha expressed solidarity with the family impacted by state oppression, including enforced disappearances. The couple, the statement mentioned, is today facing injustice under the very system against which they have spoken for the rights of the oppressed. It said that the couple has been deprived of justice and was dealing with injustice.

The BYC's statement came as the anti-terrorism court in Islamabad announced a verdict in a case connected to removing barricades placed on the road during a cricket match in Islamabad in 2024 and sentenced Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha to 10 years in prison each. They were also fined Pakistani Rupees (PKR) one lakh each under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.

"The question is: Is raising one's voice for justice a crime? Is standing with oppressed nations a punishable act? And is the attempt to silence those who defend human rights precisely because they dare to speak out against state oppression? The sentence handed down to Iman Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha is not merely the punishment of two individuals; rather, it is an alarming message to all those voices that speak out for the oppressed and resist injustice. When lawyers and human rights activists begin to feel unsafe themselves, it is only natural for questions to arise about the entire justice system," the BYC posted on X.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]