Devoid of the Rule of Law: Pakistan’s ‘War on Terror’

Pakistan has found itself at the epicentre of the War on Terror. With over two thirds of those held in Guantanamo Bay having been detained in Pakistan, the Pakistani government has pushed itself and its country to the very forefront of international detention policies.
Due to the activities of the security services in Pakistan, the country’s detention policy has become synonymous with words such as secret detention, enforced disappearances, torture and rendition.
For many, the treatment of detainees in Pakistan has become the central issue in fighting for the soul of the country. The sacking of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the subsequent movement by the country’s lawyers speaks heavily to the dissatisfaction that is felt by the people of Pakistan in the way they are being treated. There is a void in Pakistan where the rule of law and due process once existed; failure to produce those arrested before the courts has increased instability in the region and given further cause to those who would propagate violence.