January 27, 2026
by Ahmed Saeed
After the fall of Dhaka in 1971, the hope of a return to democracy was high in Pakistan. Power had shifted from General Yahya Khan to a civilian leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Yet ironically martial law continued. The arrest of political dissident Malik Ghulam Jilani, under emergency regulations, exposed how little things had changed. What followed this arrest became one of the most important constitutional battles in the country’s history. Challenged by Jilani’s 18-year-old daughter, Asma Jilani, the case reached the Supreme Court at a time when military rule still enjoyed legal protection under the Dosso judgment. In April 1972, the court overturned that precedent, declaring Yahya Khan a ‘usurper’ and ruling that no authority stood above the Constitution. The verdict dismantled the doctrine of “might is right” and reshaped Pakistan’s constitutional jurisprudence. Beyond its legal impact, the case marked the emergence of a powerful human rights discourse and set Asma Jahangir on a lifelong path of resistance to authoritarianism.
Watch: Asma Jilani Case: The verdict that changed Pakistan