Volume IV, Issue II (April 2006) - Columbus School of Law

partisan judiciary, a vigilant press, participation by women – all those necessary requirements of avibrant civil society – have suffered from constant erosion.’ 115The legal environment within which civil society organizations must operate in Pakistan is alsocomplicated and often contradictory, at least in practice. For example, while the constitution ofthe Islamic Republic of Pakistan guarantees freedom of association, 116 the government also hasconstrained that right -- such as through bans on public assemblies and arrests of civil societyleaders -- in the interest of sovereignty or otherwise whenever it claims that ‘national interests’are at stake. 117 As a practical matter, so long as civil society relegates itself to the role of servicedelivery, philanthropy and charity, the state is relatively comfortable. It is when civil societyorganizations become involved in advocacy roles that ‘national interests’ are triggered and thestate generally steps in. 118In addition, the legal framework itself is widely-regarded as confusing and, in many ways,outdated or even obsolete. 119 To illustrate the confusing maze of laws, for example, a review ofrecent studies of the legal framework of philanthropic organizations in Pakistan reveals one studythat states there are ‘six different laws under which organisations can be registered’; 120 anotherstudy that states there are ‘at least seven laws that are of principal relevance to the registrationand operation of nonprofit organizations either singly or are [sic] applicable alongside others’,while also mentioning that there are ‘eleven laws which either require registration or conferregistration either explicitly or implicitly’ to NPOs; 121 and yet another study that notes the‘plethora of laws which impact – or at the very least, marginally impinge on – philanthropicorganisations consists of a total of eighteen federal acts.’ 122 . While it is a somewhat subjectivedetermination by the authors of these studies as to which laws may ‘impact’ or be ‘relevant’ toregistration and/or operation of philanthropic organizations, one can easily imagine the difficultyfor the Pakistani civil society sector in determining what law(s) may apply. Even the languageemployed in the laws is complex and, as one study found, severely restricts the ability of thepublic to understand the laws. 123 Some of the laws are derived from laws enacted in the UnitedKingdom during the early 19 th century. Still others are derived from laws enacted by the Britishin an effort to control civil society in the wake of the War of Independence in 1857 (or, as Britishhistorians refer to it, the ‘Indian Mutiny’) -- ‘draconian laws used primarily either to intimidatephilanthropic organizations or pursue a vendetta against those that were critical of thegovernment of the day.’ 124 Some of these early colonial laws, such as the Societies RegistrationAct of 1860, the Religious Endowment Act promulgated in 1863, and the Trusts Act of 1882,remain valid laws today regulating certain philanthropic organizations in Pakistan.115 Ibid.116 Article 17(1): ‘Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to anyreasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, public order ormorality.’ Zafar Hameed Ismail and Quadeer Baig, above n 1, 254.117 Adnan Sattar Rabia Baig, above n 109, 11.118 Ibid.119 See, e.g., Zafar Hameed Ismail, ‘Law and the Nonprofit Sector in Pakistan’ (2002) (Social Policy andDevelopment Centre Working Paper No. 3, in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) andthe Center for Civil Society Studies, Johns Hopkins University) 3; Adnan Sattar Rabia Baig, above n 109,12-13.120 Adnan Sattar Rabia Baig, above n 109, 7.121 Zafar Hameed Ismail, above n 119, 3.122 Zafar Hameed Ismail and Quadeer Baig, above n 1, 252.123 Adnan Sattar Rabia Baig, above n 109, 12.124 Zafar Hameed Ismail and Quadeer Baig, above n 1, 253.23