Tag Archives: Freedom

Human Rights Series: Right To Information

May 9, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, courts, deal, Freedom, Freedom of speech, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, imf, information, Judge, law, lawsuit, lawyer, News, pakistan, Right to information, Rights, Supreme Court, Tacticadmin

Article 19-A of the Constitution of Pakistan talks about the Fundamental Right To Information. It states that:

Every citizen shall have the right to have access to information in all matters of public importance subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by law.

Right to information means that every citizen of Pakistan should be able to know what’s happening in his country. He must be aware of all the important decisions made by the government. He should be aware of new laws. He should know when his government is taking loans or making deals with other countries.

The government can make laws regulating this right. Just because everyone has this right does not mean that each and every information should be available to every citizen. For example, the decisions on national security are considered matters of public importance, but at the same time the public doesn’t need to know about military installations or war strategies. So in this and in other similar cases, the Constitution empowers the government to regulate and put reasonable restrictions on this public right. Similarly, the government can delay some information if it is in national interest, like the negotiations with the I.M.F. or with China, but after closing the deal they have to inform the public about the exact terms.

Human Rights Series: Religious Freedom In Pakistan

May 9, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, Christian, church, courts, Freedom, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Hindu, Human, human rights, Indian, Jew, Judge, law, lawsuit, lawyer, morality, mosque, Muslim, order, Parsi, public, Religion, religious, Rights, Supreme Court, synagogue, temple, worshipadmin

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is no doubt an Islamic State made for the purpose of providing a safe space for the Muslims to practice and profess their religion. But the Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah specifically announced that in this free Islamic State the minorities will have the same religious freedom to not only practice their own religions, but also to make their own religious institutions.

Keeping the same spirit alive, the Constitution of Pakistan in its Article 20 legally grants this freedom to all the citizens of Pakistan. It states:

Every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion.
Article 20(a)

This includes Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Parsis, Jews, etc. According to this Article, everyone is free to go to their mosques, churches, temples, synagogues, and other places of worship; just like Quaid e Azam instructed. Moreover, there is freedom to manage religious denominations and sects (فرقہ). The constitution states this right in the following words:

Every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
Article 20(b)

All these rights are “subject to law, public order and morality”, which means that the government can impose certain reasonable restrictions on the exercise of this right to protect the general public or to protect the overall moral conditions of the citizens. Apart from this, your freedom of religion is absolute, and no official or other person can legally deprive you of this right. If you feel like someone’s religious freedom is being curtailed, you can approach the High Court which will make necessary orders to restore this fundamental right.

Human Rights Series: Freedom Of Speech In Pakistan

May 5, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, courts, expression, Freedom, Freedom of speech, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, Islam, Judge, law, lawsuit, lawyer, media, News, pakistan, press, Rights, social, speech, Supreme Courtadmin

All Pakistanis have the freedom to express their opinions. This is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan under Article 19. This article not only permits the freedom of speech and expression, but also guarantees freedom of press.

Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, commission of or incitement to an offence.
Article 19

This freedom is, however, not absolute. Like every other country of the world, the freedom of speech cannot be used to spread hatred and chaos in Pakistan. The constitution allows the Parliament to impose certain restrictions in the interest of the following:

Glory of Islam.
Integrity, security or defence of Pakistan.
Friendly relations with foreign States.
Public order, decency or morality.
In relation to contempt of court.
In relation to commission or incitement to an offence.

These restrictions should not be excessive and should strictly relate to the above-mentioned things. Apart from these, feel free to share your feelings about any topic with your peers and on social media.

Human Rights Series: Right To Do Business

May 2, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, business, courts, doctor, Freedom, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, Judge, law, lawsuit, lawyer, occupation, Profession, Rights, Supreme Court, tradeadmin

As a citizen of Pakistan, every person has the right to do any lawful business of his choice. Furthermore, every Pakistani is permitted to practice any profession he/she likes. Article 18 of the Constitution of Pakistan guards the Freedom of trade, business or profession by declaring the same as the basic human right of every Pakistani.

Like all other rights, this right is not absolute. The goverment can place certain restrictions or regulations for conducting any business or trade. For example, you would need a degree in medicine to practice as a doctor. Some trades cannot be conducted unless you hold a license. These regulations must be in public interest and to promote and flourish the trade. Apart from this, the government can decide to conduct a business itself, to the exclusion of all others. The examples of this would be Railway and Electricity, where private companies are not allowed to offer their services.

Human Rights Series: Freedom Of Association

May 2, 2019Uncategorizedadvocate, assembly, Association, Birthright, courts, Freedom, Fundamental, Fundamental rights, high court, Human, human rights, Judge, labor, law, lawsuit, lawyer, party, Political, political party, Rights, Supreme Court, trade, unionadmin

According to Article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan, every Pakistani has a birthright to make a political party or to join any political party of his choice. Moreover, every citizen of Pakistan can form associations or unions, such as trade union, labor union, etc.

We can see that this freedom is widely exercised by the public in one form or another. For example, many citizens are vocal supporters of their favorite political party. Almost every factory worker is part of a labor union. Almost every businessman is a member of a trade association. Lawyers have their bar associations, too. On top of that, those interested in leading the masses have registered their own political parties.

The government can impose some reasonable restrictions on the exercise of this right, keeping in view the security and well-being of Pakistan and its citizens. E.g. It can ban terrorist organizations, and it can ban rallies if there is threat of lawlessness, etc.

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