On October 20, both Houses of Pakistan's Parliament passed a bill by a two-third majority making several amendments to the country's Constitution. After the President's signature, this Constitution will stand amended.
The aim of the bill is to totally emasculate Pakistan's judiciary, the last bastion standing against imposition of fascism in Pakistan and depriving the people of all rights and liberties, by divesting the judiciary of its independence.
ALSO READ: OPINION: Shameless Chief Justice of Pakistan
This reminds one of the Enabling Act passed by the German Reichstag on March 23, 1933, which enabled Hitler, who had become Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, to pass decrees inconsistent with the Weimar Constitution, and this was used by Hitler to impose a fascist dictatorship in Germany.
As in the case of the Enabling Act in Germany, these Constitutional amendments in Pakistan have been passed by carefully planned, skullduggery, chicanery, and swindle.
ALSO READ: OPINION: Women of Indian subcontinent, I salute you!
In order to obtain the Enabling Act's passage, the Nazis implemented a strategy of coercion, bribery, and manipulation. Members of the Reichstag voted in an atmosphere of extreme intimidation by the Nazi stormtroopers, the S.A., the Communist members having been earlier arrested and sent to Dachau concentration camp, their party being blamed for the Reichstag fire.
Similarly, in order to obtain the passing of the Constitutional amendments in Pakistan, the Establishment resorted to ingenious trickery, bamboozle, and flimflam. Since they did not have the numbers to get a two-third majority in either House of Parliament, they had to make some members belonging to Imran Khan's PTI to defect, and vote in favour of the bill.
ALSO READ: OPINION: It is dangerous to joke in India
There was a judgement of the Pakistan Supreme Court holding that a defector's vote will not be counted, but this verdict was reversed recently by a bench headed by that toady of the Establishment, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, to enable the defection.
MPs belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, the party headed by that unprincipled acrobat and opportunist in Pakistani politics, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, also voted in favour of the Bill.
In this connection, I have posted on X, ''Pakistanis, I suggest you take out 'janaazaas' (funeral processions) from your houses with a box containing a copy of your Constitution, instead of a coffin with a body, and take it to the nearest kabristan (graveyard), where you should bury it, saying 'fatiha' (a prayer said at funerals)''.
Dark days are ahead for Pakistan.
Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.