Lawfare against Farhatullah Babar…By Dr Naazir Mahmood
In one of my previous columns (‘Lawfare limited to warfare unlimited’, March 30, 2025) we discussed how states tend to use the law as a means to stifle dissenting voices. Now this lawfare is once again in action against one of the sanest voices in a sea of insanity that claims to be the land of the pure.
Farhatullah Babar is facing an FIA inquiry for his alleged involvement in the acquisition of illegal assets, corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. Babar has received a set of 18-20 questions seeking his response pertaining to his tenure as a senator. An individual from Rawalpindi filed a private complaint that has triggered the inquiry. The authorities issued a formal notice to Babar to appear before the FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle (ACC). The former senator appeared before the FIA just before Eidul Fitr and faced questions about his income and assets. After Eid, Babar once again had to visit the ACC in Islamabad.
When Babar received the detailed questionnaire about his assets and tax records, he engaged his lawyer who requested a copy of the complaint filed against Babar who has not held any government position since 2013 when he ended his work as a spokesperson for President Asif Ali Zardari. In Pakistan’s mainstream political parties, there are not many who can reach Farhatullah Babar’s calibre in terms of commitment to progressive ideals of democracy and social justice. In a crowd of rightest and centrist politicians, Babar stands out as a left-leaning activist and public intellectual.
Engineer by training, journalist by profession – as a former managing editor of the Peshawar-based English daily, ‘The Frontier Post’ – and politician by choice, Babar also remained a member of the Senate of Pakistan for two terms from 2003 to 2006 and from 2012 to 2018. As a senator, Babar displayed his unwavering activism and commitment to progressive legislative work pertaining to democracy, human rights, political transparency, provincial autonomy, and religious freedom. He continued to raise questions about the perks and privileges that the civil and military bureaucracy enjoys in Pakistan; obviously, most of these questions remain unanswered.
Since politics in Pakistan is a tough nut to crack, those who dedicate their lives to politics end up paying a heavy price for their commitment to democracy and human rights. Demonising politicians is not new in this country as most of the politicians finding themselves on the wrong side of the powers that be sooner or later face vilification campaigns against themselves. State functionaries as well as ‘private complainants’ and unknown persons, keep hounding politicians such as Babar who fight for public interest and question the ‘national interest’ that has overshadowed public interest for long.
Babar is one of those rare politicians who dream for a pluralistic society with wider public participation. Whenever any government tries to snuff out dissenting voices, Babar has stood firm in nearly all demonstrations and public protests held in Islamabad. Thanks to Farhatullah Babar, the intellectual discussion in Islamabad is alive – be it at the Black Hole, National Press Club, Progressive Writers Association or the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. He speaks his mind against manipulated opinions in politics and challenges misperceptions prevalent in society. He belongs to a rare breed of politicians that has no ulterior intents invested in public participation.
Babar challenges the influence of non-political forces in politics and the non-representative culture of public representatives. With Raza Rabbani, Sherry Rehman and Taj Haider, Farhatullah Babar has served as a saving grace for the PPP on many occasions. Unquestionably, Babar is one of the finest politicians in the country. He has no latent desire to endear himself to the leaders in government and state circles by pandering to their interests. He has been waging his noble fight for representational politics without any ulterior motives. While in the Senate of Pakistan, Babar emerged as a restless defender of people’s rights, reflected in his legislative work.
Despite being active in politics for nearly 50 years now, one cannot recall any moment when Babar indulged in any heroics apart from his own agenda of keeping the machinery of democracy working. As a member of parliament, he became actively involved in various committees and never shied away from legislative agendas. The respect Babar commands across the political spectrum is unparalleled; not many can claim the reverence that Babar has earned from nearly all political parties, of course apart from the powers that be who did not even like internationally recognised personalities including Asma Jahangir and I A Rehman.
Babar has always carried with him the dignified stature of an intellectual politician who can discuss controversial issues without being disrespectful to anyone. His sincerity is legendary, and his approach is unconventional as he tends to challenge conventions and traditions while remaining committed to his principles. Babar is one of the most articulate politicians one can listen to for hours without losing interest. He has been an advocate for constitutional reforms to grant more rights to the marginalised communities in the country. His diction is discreet, and his tone is always calibrated to perfection.
The civil society in Pakistan can boast of having one of the finest individuals in its ranks as Babar – despite being nearly 80 years of age – still exudes the energy and charisma that has inspired his juniors. He has no airs about himself and perhaps does not know how many young readers and writers he has influenced. Having served closely with Benazir Bhutto in the PM’s office and with Zardari in the President House, Babar has observed the machinations that a civilian and elected government faces from the various quarters not inclined to allow democracy to function smoothly.
Despite growing cynicism in the country, Babar keeps himself an optimist to the core. He is not a harbinger of melancholy in society; rather he is a disseminator of hope and courage to fight. One can never find him gloomy or pessimistic even while talking about the declining standards of politics in the country. He realises that there are many flaws in the constitution and the facade of democracy in Pakistan, but he keeps himself engaged in constitutional and democratic matters so that we can identify flaws and try to remove them rather than folding the entire political setup with an unrepresentative dispensation.
In most of his political career, he has been an anathema to antidemocratic forces in the country as he remained an ardent critic of the highhandedness of the various agencies that violate fundamental and human rights. Most of the questions he raised while in the Senate pertained to the transparency that is lacking in governmental and state affairs. His consistent bravery and courage to call a spade a spade is of course an undesirable characteristic in a politician in the eyes of the powerful circles that hold the strings of nearly everything in the country.
If Babar faces the same ordeal that Justice Faez Isa and his wife faced not long ago, that will be another blot on the face of those who hamper transparency and curb dissenting voices. The civil society and political parties in Pakistan must raise their voices against concocted cases that the lawfare in Pakistan is employing to frighten activists, intellectuals and politicians.
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