The writer is president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency.
IN this age of globalisation, nations are voluntarily giving up a part of their legislative sovereignty to supranational entities like the European Union (EU) and global agencies like the UN. In the former case, the legislatures of member states may be ceding as much as 80 per cent of their legislative rights to the European Parliament, although the figure varies widely from country to country.
A country doesn’t have to be a part of an entity like the EU to experience this aspect of globalisation. There are several other ways in which states depart from the classical concept of sovereignty. Countries are frequently entering into bilateral and multilateral treaties, accords and conventions which bind them to the terms of such agreements.
In 1990, my younger brother Babar was tortured in police custody. It happened in Lahore after his arrest in another city. In the middle of the day, on a very busy road he was dragged into a police vehicle by a large contingent of uniformed men. No warrant was shown. No explanation was given.
A student of Aitchison College and a sportsperson, Babar took great pride in his horsemanship and ability to excel at most outdoor activities.
When the Punjab police tortured my brother, my father was serving as a very well-connected, high-level bureaucrat in Lahore, and my older brother was a recent entrant in civil service.
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