THE state is taking important measures to prevent violence ahead of the polls, but it must exercise restraint while balancing security needs and public rights.

On Wednesday, the Punjab caretaker government imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the province. According to the notification, for now, the carrying, display and firing of weapons, including licensed arms, has been prohibited for civilians.

These restrictions will remain in place till Feb 12 — three days after the general election — in order to “prevent disturbance of public peace and tranquillity”. As far as the imposition of Section 144 is restricted to ensuring no guns are brought to or used in public spaces, the measure must be appreciated.

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However, the same law also gives officials broad powers to ban any activity if they declare it to be against the public interest. These powers should not be abused by leveraging them to administratively restrict the activities of any political party.

The upcoming election has already been marred by the state’s overenthusiastic abuse of power, and several miscarriages of justice have grossly skewed the playing field. Political campaigning has thus far been lacklustre because the people have started to believe that the election result has been pre-decided. There is a dire need to rectify this impression.

Instead of taking any measure that could further dampen the spirit of competition between the parties and candidates contesting the polls, the state should focus on providing equal opportunities to all candidates, be they independent or affiliated with a political party, to run their campaigns freely.

If security is a concern, then the provincial administrations must hold all stakeholders to the same standard and make clear their requirements for public gatherings. Ideally, given the security situation, they should be working closely with all contestants and assisting them equitably in the planning of political events so that no untoward incident takes place.

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It is unfortunate that those currently responsible for stewarding the country have so far disregarded all voices of reason. However, the old political parties should know that an election shorn of legitimacy will be an albatross around their necks.

With mere days remaining in the election, they still have time to collectively push for a fair contest. The country must be in a position to make a fresh start from Feb 9. This will not happen unless what remains of the contest is free, equitable and fair, and the citizenry, by and large, accepts the election and its results.

Our political leaders must let go of the belief that the solution to Pakistan’s many crises lies in repeating the 2018 experiment with a different set of actors. Such mistakes cannot yield different results. To move forward, they must let go of the past — or else be doomed to repeat it.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2024