Privacy of home is a basic human right. Islam recognizes this right, and so does the law of Pakistan in Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 which makes privacy of home a fundamental right. It states that:

The dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolable.

Article 14(1)

Article 14(1) talks about two rights – dignity of man, and privacy of home. Here, protecting dignity of man means that no matter whether it is the goverment, the court, a private organization, or anyone else, no one can strip a man (or woman) of his dignity. These are very powerful words because they make sure that we no longer get ridiculous punishments from courts of law as one could get from a Panchayat (=jirga, illegal court). Any conduct which is unbecoming for a man’s respect is not allowed in Pakistan.

An extension of the right to dignity is privacy of home. What we do behind closed doors is none of the government’s business. Nobody can harass anyone for doing anything within his own house. The words “subject to law” preceding this right are very important. If you are doing something illegal behind closed doors, and the law allows the authorities to arrest you, then you would not have this right to protect you. Some examples of this scenario are drug dealing, domestic abuse, illegal weapons, being an Indian agent, etc. Even in those cases, the police would have to strictly follow the legal procedures e.g. getting a warrant before conducting a raid. The courts have declared time and again that police cannot raid a house if they suspect that immoral activities are being committed there.

Despite this fundamental right being available to all persons in Pakistan, we might see that somewhere someone is violating this right. In such cases, the victim can file a petition in the court for necessary directions in this regard.