KARACHI: At a time when Pakistan is confronted with multiple challenges in a rapidly changing world, independent scholarship, critical thinking and fearless research have become more important than ever and, therefore, the thinkers and writers of the country must pursue independent inquiry and speak truthfully, instead of succumbing to fear or conforming to official narratives.

This was the key takeaway from an event held to launch Riyasat-e-Pakistan aur Muqtadra ka Kirdar — the Urdu translation of scholar Hamza Alavi’s book, Military in the State of Pakistan (1974) — at the Karachi Press Club on Saturday.

The Urdu translation has been undertaken by Dr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Szabist.

The event, which was presided over by veteran journalist Hussain Naqi and moderated by Qazi Khizer of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), brought together speakers from academia, the legal fraternity, the media and civil society, who expressed concern over the increasing pressure on democratic voices and growing influence of the establishment.

Riyasat-e-Pakistan aur Muqtadra ka Kirdar launched at KPC

Rights activist Mehnaz Rehman said Hamza Alavi’s work was still useful for understanding Pakistan’s political and institutional problems, but added that scholars now needed to focus on finding solutions through more research.

She said Pakistan was facing many challenges, including inflation, religious intolerance, restrictions on the media, pressure on the judiciary, gender inequality and insecurity in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These issues, she said, required serious research and informed public debate.

However, she said this was difficult when university teachers and intellectuals were struggling with salary-related issues instead of concentrating on research and nation-building.

Senior lawyer Faisal Siddiqi said the power of the establishment was based largely on perception and narrative. Referring to Hamza Alavi’s work, he said his work challenged that perception by showing that the establishment’s power was not as firmly rooted as many believed.

He said the establishment had always struggled to gain legitimacy despite holding power, which creates only an appearance of stability. However, he added, the current establishment seemed less concerned about legitimacy and appeared to believe that power alone was enough.

Dr S. Akbar Zaidi, political economist and Executive Director of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, said: “Hamza Alavi was not as well known in South Asia as some people claim, nor was he a Marxist scholar many describe him as.”

However, he said this did not reduce his importance as a scholar and praised both Mr Alavi’s work and Dr Riaz Shaikh’s Urdu translation. He added that although Mr Alavi’s paper remained historically important, it was written in 1974 and could not fully explain today’s realities. He said Pakistan had changed significantly since then and scholars should study both history and the changes that had taken place over the past five decades.

Renowned historian Dr Mubarak Ali could not attend the event in person. However, a recorded speech by him was played at the programme, in which he said that independent thinkers and writers often did not receive the recognition they deserved in Pakistan, while honours and official titles were given to other so-called intellectuals. He said many writers and thinkers were reluctant to write and speak freely because of fear of the establishment and the government, which had slowed the country’s intellectual and historical progress.

Therefore, he urged academics and writers to think, write and speak independently and without fear so that meaningful research and scholarship could flourish in Pakistan.

HRCP Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt also praised the translation and spoke about its importance. He also said that freedom of expression is being suppressed in Pakistan. “There is a stifling environment in the country,” he said and added that such things should not be allowed to go further.

Academic Dr Tauseef Ahmad Khan said the British introduced a system in the subcontinent that gave greater power to the bureaucracy and the military.

After the creation of Pakistan, he said, the country’s political leadership, including Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, lacked experience in military and defence affairs, which allowed the bureaucracy and the military to become the most powerful institutions. He said the book clearly presents these issues.

Senior journalist Sohail Sangi shared a similar view. He said the bureaucracy and the military were the only well-organised institutions at the time of Pakistan’s creation, which allowed them to become increasingly powerful. He said this trend continued and political parties and democratic institutions had not been allowed to develop fully.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Riaz Shaikh said: “Pakistani politics and the crisis of democracy cannot be understood without reading Hamza Alavi’s research work.” He said that freedom of expression is under distress in Pakistan.

Academic and researcher Dr Tahira Khan also spoke.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026